The Gathering of Beasts
by tohrment.dragonseeker
Summary: Naruto studies under an ANBU team and later learns about the plans of the Akatsuki. Can he help out the other jinchurikiis before its too late or will he fall victim to the Akatsuki's plans? M for violence, gore, and sexual situations. Smart/strong Naruto. NarutoXothers, but ultimately Naruto/Yugao.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

This is my first fanfic, and if its liked, I will continue to write to this fanfic. Because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P). No I'm kidding, your feedback is welcomed as well.

Also this will not be a harem unless one of the readers can really change my mind away from that. I do not like to write to canon because it limits creativity in my mind, but at the same time, I will keep some parts of the story as canon because it had a good plot/storyline. Hypocritical? Sure. However, thats how I choose to write. That being said, lets get into the story :) Hope you enjoy!

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**"_**Kyuubi thoughts"**_

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

I have revised this chapter to make it easier to read, according to some reviews. Hope its better :)

**Chapter 1: The beginnings**

Its been 8 years since the tragic incident of the Nine-tailed fox attacking Konohagakure, of which came a boy who the late Fourth Hokage had sealed the demon fox into. Itachi Uchiha watched as the boy walked through the streets with a group of adults following him, yelling out to him, "Demon fox!" "You deserve to die!" "You don't belong here!" "How dare you show your face in this village!" He frowned, knowing that it was not the boy's fault that he had the fox sealed inside him. He was glad he was wearing his ANBU mask as his teammates would not be able to see his frown, because as an ANBU member, you're not supposed to show emotion.

It was his squads turn to watch over the young boy, something directed by the Third Hokage to oversee the boys safety and to make sure that he didn't lose control of the demon fox inside him. Itachi didn't mind looking after the boy at all. The boy reminded Itachi of himself; lonely, sad, misplaced, yet the look in the boy's eyes showed a hidden intelligence. Looking to his right, he saw two other ANBU with him, one wearing a cat-like mask with three red stripes on it, her purple hair reached down to the middle of her back and was held against her back by a five foot katana. Next to her, was a man wearing a bird like mask, with a thick black stripe going through the middle of the mask, he had short spiky black hair.

Itachi turned his attention back to the boy and the group following him as they started to get more violent with the angry mob beginning to throw rocks at the back of the boy's head. As the boy neared an alleyway, Itachi saw someone push the boy into the alley until he was hidden from sight from the rest of village. The angry mob followed the violent aggressor into the alleyway and began to beat the 8 year old boy into a bloodied heap of unconsciousness, until they thought he was dead. The mob left the alleyway, whistling and going in different directions pretending as if nothing ever happened, each of them thinking to themselves, _"The demon child is finally dead._

* * *

The blond 8 year old boy, Naruto, laid there in a puddle of his own blood as he slipped in and out of consciousness. _"Stupid people... what did I ever do to them? Why do they hate me so much?"_ He thought back to the first time he remembered someone being mean to him.

**FLASHBACK**

Naruto was 5 years old and was skipping rocks over the lake near the Uchiha compound when a couple of the Uchiha clan members started to call him names and throw rocks at him. He turned around to look at his aggressors, "What did I ever do to you guys to be called such names? I don't even know you all."

The group of teenagers looked amongst themselves, unsure who was going to speak first when a teenager wearing the standard Konoha ninja gear stepped up. "Its because you don't belong here. You're nothing but a hindrance to this village. You have no potential as a ninja and no real reason to be here. So you might as well begone, you filthy demon scum." He grinned as he spoke this to Naruto, seeing the hurt inside his eyes. He decided to walk up to the boy and picked him up and walked over the docks and threw him into the water.

Naruto started to flail his arms about as he had no idea how to swim at the time. Looking back over to the docks, he saw the group of Uchiha members laughing as they walked away. Slowly, Naruto began to keep his head above the water and swam back towards the bank of the lake, soaked and cold from head to toe. After that, Naruto decided that he would become a great ninja and become the Hokage so that everyone had to respect him and acknowledge him. He began reading books about chakra and jutsus, having to resort to stealing books from the library due to the librarian throwing kunai at him to keep him out.

**FLASHBACK END**

Naruto woke up in a large room that had water covering the floor. _"Great, I'm in a sewer or something."_ He decided to get up and walked around and came to a large jail cell with a tag on the centermost post with the kanji for 'Seal' on it. He was about to step inside the jail cell when suddenly a giant orange fox slammed its front feet down in front of Naruto and glared at him through the cell.

**"So, the runt finally decides to show himself. I'm guessing you want my help in healing your wounds again, huh? You really should learn to defend yourself kid." **The demon fox grinned at Naruto, as he had already began to heal his containers wounds, which ranged from broken bones to punctured lungs to severe bleeding. The demon fox had no intention of dying so early, not that he really could die, he was a tailed beast after all and was pure chakra, however, the idea that it would take quite some time before he would come back to the realm of reality was undesirable to him.

Naruto looked at the fox incredulously, thinking that he had gone crazy from the beatings. "You're the Kyuubi, aren't you? You're the reason everyone in the village hates me!" Naruto looked at the fox, mad and sad at the same time.

**"You've got it all wrong kid!" **The demon fox began, rage running through him as he was being judged by this runt of a human,"**I was forced to attack the village. A masked ninja pulled me out of my previous container and controlled me with his ocular prowess. Had it not been for him, I would never have attacked the village in the first place! So how dare you accuse me of such things! You're lucky I'm even here considering how often I have to heal your wounds!" **Kyuubi slammed his paw on the ground, causing a wave of water to splash over Naruto, which made him frown but made the Kyuubi laugh.

Naruto eyed the fox and sat down, crossing his arms and glared at him. "How do I know you're telling the truth? Everything I've read about you says that you attacked the village out of the blue and killed hundreds of shinobi and villagers. What makes you think I'll believe you?"

The Kyuubi, outraged that someone as small as this child was going to question _him_, the nine-tailed fox, the strongest of all the bijuus. The fox looked at the child and growled, **"You DARE to question me?! After keeping you alive for 8 years, you dare to question ME?! I could have let you die the first time you found yourself shoved into an alley! I could have taken over your body when you were at your weakest and gone on my way! And yet, you sit here, in front of me, the Nine-tailed Fox and question my statements on an event that you weren't even awake for?! How dare you!" **The Kyuubi rages on and reaches out to hit Naruto with a swipe of his claw, but Naruto is just out of reach. _**"Come closer you little shit, so I can show you who you are dealing with."**_

Naruto just looked at the claws that were swiping away in front of him, frowning, knowing that the Kyuubi was right. He had no idea what actually transpired that night. There were no records of a masked ninja anywhere in any history books that he'd read. He looked up at the Kyuubi and smiled, sort of looking like a fox-like smile with the whiskers he had on each side of his cheek. "You're right Kyuubi-san. I don't know what happened that night. Maybe I should believe you, but why show yourself to me now? After 8 years of torture, why now?"

The Kyuubi looked at the runt before him and brought his clawed paw back behind the barrier. **"Its not a matter of me showing myself to you, but you escaping into your mind. Right now, while your broken and beaten body is in the real world, you are here in your mind completely unharmed. And I am here as well, locked behind this sealed barrier until a time you can learn to defeat me. And you will defeat me one day as I refuse to have a weak human as my jinchurikii." **The Kyuubi grinned to Naruto, having a hidden meaning behind his words.

Naruto looked at the demon fox, "And how exactly am I supposed to defeat you? You're a giant fox! One of the tailed beasts!"

**"I'm going to help train you..."** The Kyuubi frowned pausing from his speaking, sensing three chakra signatures closing in around Naruto, **"But we'll get to that later. For now, you need to return to reality, three shinobi are coming towards you." **

Naruto looked at the fox, "How do I leave?"

**"Just stop thinking about escaping from reality and face it." **The Kyuubi stated as Naruto nodded and began to leave the sealed mindscape.

Naruto opened his eyes to see a cat-masked ANBU healing him. He slowly turned his head to see a bird-masked ANBU and dog-masked ANBU, smiling softly. He smiled softly at the ANBU members, glad they were helping him and not hurting him, "Thank you Neko-san..." he said softly, "So why are you guys here?" He looked at the ANBU members, taking in their different traits and masks. The cat-masked ANBU had straight purple hair that reached her back with a sword behind her back, the dog-masked ANBU had pitch black hair that went down to his chin with a sword behind his back, while the bird-masked ANBU had spiky unruly black hair with no sword, and all three of them wore the standard ANBU outfits of black leggings, boots, and shirts. _"Seems only two of them know kenjutsu."_

"We're here on orders of the Third Hokage." Itachi stated through his dog-mask. He felt sorrow for Naruto, the life he had, how he was treated. Noone should be treated that way, let alone the son of the late Fourth Hokage. "However, it seems the villagers who ambushed you believe you're dead..." Itachi looked at his teammates for a split second before looking back towards Naruto, "So, if you like, I can help create you a new identity, a new life, and a..."

He was interrupted by his fellow bird ANBU teammate. "Whoa. We can't do that. Noone is supposed to know our identity and I'm sure if you exposed yourself to him, he would blab or the Hokage would find out."

Itachi thought about this for a second. He looked at his friend, "So you'd rather watch him get back up and beat again?" he countered. His friend just looked at him through his mask, unsure of what to say. He just nodded his head towards Naruto, giving the ANBU captain the go ahead. Itachi grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and a pencil and wrote down something on it, handing it to his teammate. "Go get these items and then report to the hidden training ground."

The bird-masked ANBU took the paper and looked at it, before looking at Naruto. "He hasn't even said anything about whether or not he wants a new image."

Naruto watched the two talk as he laid there getting healed. As soon as the cat-masked ANBU was done healing him, she helped him sit up. "There you go, good as new. Though you could use some new clothes that aren't so bloody." She looked over to her team captain and nodded. It was their silent communication that made them such a great team, just a simple nod and they already knew what they needed to do. "Naruto-kun, would you like to have a new life?" she asked him sweetly.

Naruto looked at her and then the other two, "What do you mean by a 'new life'?" He wasn't all that sure what they meant.

Itachi spoke up afterward, "What we mean is that we will get you a new outfit, new name, new everything. Basically, you get to start over as someone else. To give an added bonus, I'll even teach you how to be a ninja."

The two teammates looked at him, practically breaking their necks. "You won't even train your own brother, but yet you'll train him?!" the spiky haired ANBU said.

"Naruto is different from my brother, he doesn't seem to have any hate in him."

Naruto stood up and gave a fox-like grin. "Sure! I'd love to have you teach me Inu-sensei! I'll become the best ninja ever, even better than the Hokage! I'll become Hokage and make everyone acknowledge me! Believe it!" He gave a thumbs up to the masked Itachi, happy that someone is actually being nice to him.

Itachi looked at his teammate, "Now will you go pick up those items?" The bird-masked ANBU nodded his head and shunshined away, a wisp of smoke where he once stood.

Itachi looked at the cat-masked woman, "Pick him up and follow me to the hidden grounds." he stated towards his teammate, before shunshin-ing away to the hidden grounds. The purple-haired ANBU got down on a knee and put her arms behind her, signaling Naruto to climb onto her back so she can meet up with Itachi. Feeling his weight on her back as he climbed on, she grabbed his legs as he wrapped his arms around her neck before jumping onto the roofs and traveling to the hidden grounds. It took a couple minutes to get there by roof-traveling. Once there, she put Naruto down and walked over to stand beside her teammate. "We'll wait til Tori-san is here before we begin teaching Naruto." he stated matter-of-factly.

Naruto looked at the two ninjas and sat down crossing his legs. He put his hands together in the form of two connects "U"s and entered back into his mind with the Kyuubi.

**"Back so soon are we?" **the Nine-tails spoke to his container.

"I wanted to ask you how you were going to train me if I'm already going to be getting trained by Inu-sensei."

**"A shinobi could have multiple senseis. Each teacher brings their own expertise to the table. Honestly, if you're being trained by this ANBU, it'll make my job easier as I won't have to explain so much. However, I have more battle experience and have lived a lot longer than this puny human has, so I'll be able to help more as well. Don't think for a second though I'm going to be easy on you just because you're a child." **The fox grins at Naruto, wondering how much the boy will be able to take of his training. Naruto just looked at the fox, thinking about what the Kyuubi just said to him.

"Kyuubi, why do you want to train me?"

**"I refuse to have a weak container. If you intend on being weak, I'll kill you myself!"** roared the Kyuubi, causing Naruto to put his hands up in defense from the wave of winds the Kyuubi caused by his roaring.

"Ok ok. I get it, strong host, many teachers. So when are you going to start training me?"

**"That depends on what kind of training this human has for you."**

"Thats not fair!"

**"Hmph." **was all that was said in return before the Kyuubi laid his head down on his paws and began to rest.

_"Stupid fox."_ he thought to himself as he left his mind.

* * *

Shisui Uchiha walked through the village's shops picking up what was on the slip of paper. _"Why's he going through all this trouble for that boy... well, I have to admit, he is really ambitious. Almost as ambitious as me, maybe he has the same will of fire that I do." _He mused to himself, while looking for the final item, a mask. He wandered into the mask shop and was looking around. "Good evening ANBU. What brings you here? Seems you already have a mask." spoke the young shopkeeper. "I'm looking for a mask for a friend, just a plain one for now until they can decide on one for themselves." he looked around, just looking for a plain non-marked masked. "Ah, how about this one, completely white." The shopkeep said as he picked up one of the masks, thinking it unusual than an ANBU would be buying a mask for someone else. He looked up to see the ANBU member nod his head and took it to the register. "That'll be 7,000 ryo." shopkeep said, handing the mask to Shisui. Shisui paid the shopkeep and bowed his head, "Thank you for the mask." He walked out back into the fresh air and put the mask into the pouch he was asked to buy for Naruto. _"Hmmmm. I wonder what Itachi will want to teach him first. Probably will want to find out his chakra nature first and then maybe do some demonstration on chakra control to find out how much chakra he has right now, which probably isn't much. However, he is an Uzumaki so he should have a large reserve of chakra. Guess we'll find out soon.__"_ Shisui shunshin-ed away to the hidden grounds where Itachi had requested him to meet, showing up in a wisp of smoke.

* * *

Naruto was looking around as he heard the rustle of clothes, signaling a newcomer. He looked over to see the bird-masked ANBU handing a pouch to, what he seemed to gather, was the ANBU team captain. "Give the pouch to Naruto." The captain stated simply, looking at Naruto, giving no hint of emotion with his voice. He'd had too much practice on keeping his emotions in check while he was in training to be an ANBU member, the same training his teammates went through. On top of that, he had his own personal things he had to deal with when he was off duty, his own personal demons to fight. He watched as the spiky haired ANBU member tossed the pouch to Naruto. "Open it. You'll find supplies inside." Naruto opened the pouch and dumped it onto the ground in front of him before separating into different piles. He saw different types of tags, two of the ones he noticed most were tags that had the kanji for 'chakra' and 'gravity', there were six gravity seals and two chakra seals. He moved onto the next pile, which was a set of black clothes and open sandals, specifically his size. In the next pile, was a group of 10 kunai and shuriken. Lastly, there was a plain white mask.

_"Seems odd to have a set of black clothes and a white mask."_ He mused to himself as he picked up the mask looking it over.

Itachi looked at Naruto and cleared his throat until he got the boy's attention. He searched for any chakra signatures besides the ones in the clearing of the grounds. Not sensing any, he removed his mask and looked at Naruto. "My name is Itachi Uchiha and I will be teaching you the ways of the shinobi. First things first, you do want to be taught, correct?" he asked of Naruto, seeing the boy nod his head. "Excellent! Well, I don't know about these two, but if they wish to train you as well, they can." He paused a moment to see if they wanted to train Naruto as well, noticing both of them nod their heads.

"Alright, to start off with, the outfit that you see in front of you is the standard ANBU outfit, obviously bought to fit you right now. And the mask is to hide your face, you can get a new mask later when you get the ryo for it. Try not to ruin your clothes as we can't constantly afford to keep paying for new sets if you ruin them." Naruto nodded as he picked up the new set of clothes, glad to see he had multiple sets in the event of damage during training. "Now, do you know the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Itachi asked of Naruto.

"No Itachi-sensei. I don't really know any jutsu. I know chakra control and thats about it." he responded back, excited he's going to be getting taught his first jutsu.

"Its an A-rank, so don't be surprised if you fail it for awhile." Itachi put his fingers together, and without saying anything, created a shadow clone of himself standing next to him.

"There is an extended version known as the Multi-shadow Clone Jutsu, but all it is is a creation of many shadow clones simultaneously at the same time, usually numbering in the hundreds." spoke the bird ANBU.

Naruto grinned a fox-like grin as he made the cross hand signs and focused his chakra, yelling out "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A wisp of smoke appeared next to Naruto with a half-baked clone that flopped over before poofing away. _"I think it needs more chakra." _Naruto tried it once again and once again, came to fail with a disappearing clone. _"Hmmm... I think I got it." _ He made the seals once more and finally created a standing copy of himself. He snickered and stuck a thumb out, "I did it! Believe it! So uh... now what?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Now, we go off and play a game of rock-paper-scissors so you can see the benefit of this jutsu. Which that it transfers its knowledge to the original." Itachi's clone and Naruto's clone went off away from where they could be seen and played a game of rock-paper-scissors, resulting in Itachi's win. After which, the clones poofed away, leading Naruto into the revelation that this will help increase his training. "Alright, now that we got that out of the way, we need to find out your chakra nature." He took a piece of paper out of his pouch and handed it to Naruto.

"What do I do with this?" he asked, flipping the paper back and forth, not really sure what to do with it. He knew about chakra natures, but he had no idea how this piece of paper was going to tell him what it was.

The cat ANBU shook her head, "You send your chakra into the paper. Either one of five things will happen. It'll either split, burn, crumple, crumble, or become wet, each representing one of the five basic elements. For me, I'm a water style user. Itachi-san is a fire style, and Tori-san is also fire style. There's more to chakra nature than just that, but we'll get to that point later down the road, for now, you just need to know which one you're more suited to."

Naruto looked at the cat ANBU and did as was advised and sent chakra into the paper. Much to everyone's surprised, the paper split into five sections, each section acting the same way as the cat ANBU said it would. One section crumbled away into dirt, one section had a tear in it, one section became soggy and limp, one section caught fire, and the last section crumpled together. Each of the ANBU members looked on in surprised with anime eyes that he had a natural affinity to all five elements.

_"Well, this is something unexpected, albeit very interesting. Must be the fox that allows him to have an affinity for each nature considering a bijuu is just pure chakra." _Itachi thought to himself, unsure how powerful Naruto might become. "Well, seems you have a natural affinity for all five of the chakra natures, highly rare in a shinobi." Itachi stated, tilting his head slightly to the side. _"I wonder how vast his chakra levels are..."_ "Alright, go change behind those trees over there and then come back when you're done." he spoke to Naruto.

"Hai!" Naruto exclaimed, giving a smart playful salute with his trademarked fox grin.

Naruto picked up a set of clothes and ran off behind the trees and changed into the black outfit. They were abit form fitting and they worked well with him. The boots gave added support for kicking and the pants and shirts hug to him so that they wouldn't interfere with training or running. He folded his old clothes up and walked back out, carrying his clothes with him, setting them down.

"Alright, I'm changed. When do we begin training?" ask an overly excited Naruto, grinning happily.

"Soon, Naruto, soon. Next, what we're gonna do is put the gravity seals on you." Itachi stated as he walked over and picked up the four gravity seals. "The gravity seals are activated by pouring chakra into them and increase the feeling of gravity over you. The more you can withstand of the gravity pulling down on your, the stronger you will get. Another benefit to the gravity seals is that..." Itachi was cut off by Naruto.

"Is that when they are not activated, I can move faster and am stronger than when they are activated." Naruto finished up, grinning.

"Actually, thats right." Itachi stated, hearing both his teammates snicker about him being cutoff mid-sentence. Itachi beckoned Naruto over and had him take off the shirt so he could put the gravity seals on each shoulder, before moving onto putting seals on his wrists and ankles.

After Naruto put his shirt back on, he looked around and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't feel any different." he stated dumbly.

The bird and cat ANBU shook their head sadly, before the bird ANBU spoke up, "You need to push chakra into them. The seals are set up so that once chakra is poured into them, they stay at that level. So don't overdo it." As he finished, Naruto nodded and began to mold chakra into the seals and began feeling himself get pulled down more toward the earth, finding it increasingly difficult to stay standing.

"Only put enough chakra into the seals until it starts to feel hard to stand. Once you can stand up easily under that gravity, then we'll continue." Itachi stated as he walked abit away so that he and his teammates could talk amongst themselves about Naruto and what they just witnessed, without Naruto overhearing them.

* * *

"He has all five of the elemental natures, who knows what sort of Kekkei Genkai he can create." said Shisui as he ate his riceball. "I mean, not even the First Hokage had all five elements..." he stated thinking back on the legend of the First Hokage, "I have never even heard of anyone having an affinity to all five elements besides Rikudo Sennin and even that is only a myth at best."


	2. Chapter 2: A New Name

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**"_**Kyuubi thoughts"**_

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

First off, thanks to those of you who took the time to write me a review, you have been helpful.

plums: I have never written anything before story-like so my breaking the writing structure was to see how it would go. It seemed well when I wrote it, but since it does make it hard to read, I can go and make the conversations on different lines to differentiate who's saying what. Thanks for the criticism :)  
Seanyboy: I'll explain why the ANBU didn't interfere in this chapter. And no, Naruto will not have the Rinnegan, personally, I don't think the Rinnegan suits him. However, his 5 elemental natures will be hinted at in this chapter.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

Also this will not be a harem unless one of the readers can really change my mind away from that. I do not like to write to canon because it limits creativity in my mind, but at the same time, I will keep some parts of the story as canon because it had a good plot/storyline. Hypocritical? Sure. However, thats how I choose to write. I will also be doing my best to keep to the characters personality. That being said, lets get into the story :) Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 2: A New Name**

"He has all five of the elemental natures, who knows what sort of Kekkei Genkai he can create." said Shisui as he ate his riceball. "I mean, not even the First Hokage had all five elements..." he stated thinking back on the legend of the First Hokage, "I have never even heard of anyone having an affinity to all five elements besides Rikudo Sennin and even that is only a myth at best." He continued eating his riceball, looking over at Itachi, wondering what he was thinking.

"That is true Shisui-san, however, Naruto is a jinchurikii. We don't know the full powers of the Kyuubi, let alone any bijuu. The most we know is that a bijuu is pure chakra. With the seal that was put on Naruto by the late Fourth Hokage, its possible that the chakra from the Kyuubi twisted itself with his own chakra, thus giving Naruto an affinity for all five chakra natures." Itachi stated, thinking more towards himself while speaking aloud, "At best, that is what I would be able to conclude to." he looked over towards Yugao before looking at Shisui.

"That makes me wonder about the training you want to give him Itachi-kun. I mean, even through the three of us, we would not be able to teach him any earth, wind, or lightning ninjutsu." Yugao spoke, worried that them training him might only hinder his growth as a ninja. "Unless he tries to learn the jutsu on his own, which could be potentially dangerous if he's not supervised when he attempts it or unless he studies under other teachers." she looked down at her apple, using a kunai to cut off pieces of it before eating it. "As for Kekkei Genkai, he'd have a hard time doing one, let alone multiple kinds..." she looked up at Itachi. "So, I am rather curious. What are we going to train him in and how long are we going to train him for?" She looked back at Naruto, who was still having trouble standing on his legs for a good amount of time. Occasionally he would stand on wobbly legs, which would then give out from under him.

Itachi looked at Yugao for a minute, pondering her concerns for a moment before putting them to the back of his mind. "We're going to train him in kenjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, fuinjutsu and sensory skills. We'll also spend some dabbling in genjutsu, but I don't think he has a knack for it, so we'll just teach him how to get out of even the most advanced forms of genjutsu." Itachi pulled out a scroll from his pouch, noting it was a scroll of beginner fuinjutsu. "Yugao-kun, you will teach him kenjutsu, water style ninjutsu and sensory skills. Shisui-san, you will teach him fire style ninjutsu and taijutsu. And I'm going to teach him fuinjutsu and how to break out of genjutsu." he stated, before looking up at his teammates, putting his scroll back.

"Why him?" Shisui asked of Itachi.

"I see something in him that I haven't seen since the Fourth Hokage." Itachi answered, putting a silent halt to anymore questions. He finished his riceballs and looked over to Naruto to see if he was faring any better than when he first started. He watched as Naruto slowly began to hold his weight even due to the increased gravity. Itachi smiled inwardly, not letting it show on his face, refusing to let his emotions show.

* * *

Naruto finally was able to stand under the increased gravity. _"I think I put too much chakra into the seals, this was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Note to self: increase the gravity seal slowly." _he snickered to himself at his over-confidence. He looked up to see his three teachers looking at him, curious at the spiky-haired man and the purple haired woman, he had no idea who they were. "I have a question thats been bugging me Itachi-sensei." he spoke up as he began to slowly walk towards the group, trying to get used to walking with increased gravity.

"What is it Naruto?" Itachi spoke as he watched Naruto begin to walk towards him. _"So he finally has been able to stand. Interesting."_

"Why were you guys watching over me and why didn't you stop the villagers from beating me up?" Naruto asked, frowning, starting to think that they only helped him because it was convenient for them.

The three ANBU looked at one another before Itachi decided to speak up. "We were told to only watch after you, to make sure you weren't killed or anything. Not only that, but as members of the village, its illegal to attack our own villagers even if what they are doing is wrong. Doing such an act could lead to our own execution as an act of treason. I apologize that the villagers did beat you in the alleyway and that we did nothing to stop it, but I do hope you forgive us and understand that our hands were tied with our own lives within the village rules." He looked at Naruto, hoping that he could find it in his heart to forgive the three of them. He looked over to Yugao and Shisui, noticing that they both had their heads down, looking at the ground in shame.

"I forgive you. I forgive everyone who has ever beaten me up too. If I can't forgive them, then how could I ever be Hokage? Only someone who cares about his village and villagers can ever become Hokage, right?" he stated with a grin before walking up to Itachi and giving him a hug. "Besides, you're my sensei, right? So there will always be a reason for why you do the things you do. I'm just glad to have friends besides Oji-san." Itachi reached down and patted Naruto's back, smiling a small smile as he reminded him of his brother when he hugged him. "So when do we get to training Itachi-sensei and who are these other two?" he asked curiously, letting go of Itachi.

"We start tomorrow. Today we are only doing introductions and learning who is teaching you what and give you a list of directions to follow." Itachi pointed out, looking at Naruto. "I will be teaching you fuinjutsu and genjutsu. Though you don't seem to have the knack to perform genjutsu, I will be teaching you how to get out of it, even the more advanced forms of genjutsu."

"I am Shisui Uchiha of the Uchiha clan. I will be teaching you in fire style ninjutsu and taijutsu. It will be grueling and hard work, however, you will not be able to use your clones doing taijutsu, so you'll probably have to stay with me when we work on your taijutsu. As for ninjutsu, since you have an affinity for fire, I will be teaching you fire ninjutsu." the spiky-haired shinobi stated, bowing his head to Naruto, before receiving a hug from him as well and a thanks of appreciation before stepping back.

"My name is Yugao Uzuki. I will be training you kenjutsu, which is the art of sword fighting, water style ninjutsu, and sensory skills..." Yugao spoke, before being cut off by Naruto.

"What are sensory skills for and why do I need them, Yugao-sensei?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"If you hadn't interrupted me, I would have told you." she replied, getting a slight tick in her forehead before regaining her naturally calm composure. "Sensory skills allow you to pick up on enemy ninja, how many there are, and where they are located. If your particularly skilled at it, you can even tell how dangerous your enemies might be based off chakra levels alone. Without any sensory skills, your days as a shinobi would be quite limited as you would get ambushed and killed quickly. That is why you need them." she stated, smiling at him.

"Ok!" Naruto replied before giving the purple-haired kunoichi a hug as well, before letting her go. "Thank you Itachi-sensei, Shisui-sensei, and Yugao-sensei for taking the time to teach and train me to be a shinobi. I promise to make you proud and I never go back on my word." he gave a thumbs up and a fox grin.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was at his desk looking over his neverending paperwork. _"Blast this paperwork, it never seems to end! Hmmm... blast..."_ he thought, wondering how the village council would react if he just burnt all the paperwork he had to do to a crisp, only to shake his head. "_That wouldn't help, it might only ruin things with other nations because who knows what other paperwork I have in here... I wonder how Naruto is doing. I should pay him a visit today, its been relatively quiet. I hope he isn't giving the ANBU team a hard time." _He got out of his chair and walked towards the window, smoking on his pipe as he overlooked the village. "Ah, nothing beats a good pipe and a good view..." he stated before seeing the two water towers had writing over it: 'Stupid Oji-san, I'm coming for your hat!' He shook his head laughing softly, "You've a long way to go before you get my hat Naruto-kun. A long, long way to go." he stated, before turning around to continue working on the never-ending pile of paperwork. _"Damn this paperwork!"_

* * *

Itachi walked over to the mask that was still on the ground and picked it up, tossing it over to Naruto. "Before this day ends, we need to think of a new name for you."

"Why do I need a new name? I like the name I have!" Naruto exclaimed, abit hurt that his sensei didn't like his name.

"I like your name too, but you need a new name if you're going to have a new outfit so that the village doesn't know who you are and try to beat you or kill you anymore. With a new identity, you could still be Naruto Uzumaki, but you'll have an alias to go by when you are wearing your mask, which you will always wear when you are not on your own or are training. At some point, you should buy yourself your own mask, something that you would take interest in." Itachi pointed out. Naruto frowned and got a slight pout when he was told that he had to get a new name, although his mind already spinning around different name combinations.

"Naruto-kun, think of it this way. Each shinobi gets a nickname. For example, the Fourth Hokage's nickname was the Yellow Flash. Its what he was widely known as to many shinobi and nations. There is also the First Hokage, who everyone deems as the God of Shinobi, or Shisui-kun here, who is known as Shisui the Teleporter. We all have nicknames, you happen to be one of few shinobi who have a few names. It's a privilege to have so many names." Yugao told him, hoping to bring up Naruto's spirits, not wanting him to think that they don't like him.

"I see. So when can I go back to using my original name?" Naruto asked hopeful.

"When you can learn to defend yourself and you feel comfortable telling people who you really are." Shisui spoke up before Itachi could, knowing that Itachi would have probably given him a longer time frame.

"Hmm… ok then. How about Menma Shonjiki?" Naruto asked, as he looked at his teachers, grinning slightly at the name.

"That's actually not bad." Shisui commented, "I like it. What do you think Itachi-san, Yugao-kun?" They both nodded in affirmation, thinking it was a strong name. "Alright then, from this day forward, you will be known as Menma Shonjiki of Konohagakure. In time, you'll probably get a nickname based off your abilities and feats, but that's a long way to come. For now, lets just focus on your training."

Naruto grinned as he looked up to his teachers. "Hai!" was his response. "_This day just keeps getting better and better!" _

"Alright Naruto, we're going to call it a day for now. It is getting late and we have to report back to Hokage-sama, otherwise we'll get in trouble for untimely reports." Itachi stated matter-of-factly as he put on his dog mask. "Be sure to keep the lights in your apartment off if you can help it, as the villagers think you're either dead or in a ditch somewhere. If you have to go out, wear the mask and go by the name of Menma. Also, if you just head due south, you'll find your way back to your apartment. Report back here at 10 AM tomorrow and don't be late." Itachi stated before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"See you soon Naruto, be prepared for some rough training." Shisui stated before donning his bird mask. "And though Itachi didn't state it, start trying to save up money so you can rent a new apartment and your own gear if you can." Shisui disappeared with nothing more than a wisp of smoke.

"Just be careful Naruto-kun, try not to get caught without your mask on." Yugao said as she put on her cat mask. "Oh and one more thing, if you see us in the village wearing our masks, you are not to speak to us using our names. You must call us by the masks we wear. ANBU aren't to have their names revealed at any point in time. Do you understand?" Yugao asked, giving him a firm look behind her mask.

"I understand Neko-sensei." He responded, grinning. "I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded and, like Itachi, disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Hiruzen is sitting in his office waiting for his final ANBU team to report in, not surprising it's the team he assigned to watch over Naruto. He looks up from his paperwork to see the final team appearing in their own personal fashions.

"So, how is he doing?" he asked solemnly, knowing that most ANBU teams didn't like looking after him with the exception of this team.

"He is doing fine. He had gotten a little beat up, but other than that he's doing great." The dog-masked ANBU stated.

"That's great news, I'm glad to hear it. Is he at home right now or is he still causing trouble in the village with his pranks?" Hiruzen asked, wanting to pay the child a visit.

"He's currently wandering the village and heading home." The team captain spoke again, not mentioning the newest chain of events or that he might not recognize the child if he went searching for him.

"Excellent. You are dismissed, head home for the day. Report back here tomorrow at 8 AM." Hiruzen waved his hand, dismissing the ANBU team in front of him before going back to his work. The ANBU left in their own personal fashions, never once surprising the Hokage with how they left.

* * *

Itachi stood atop the Hokage tower with his teammates. "Tori-san, I need you to follow me, there are some things we need to look into regarding our clan. I'll explain more in detail later."

"I was going to say the same to you Inu-san. You going home Neko-kun?" Shisui asked, still wearing his mask.

"No, I figured I'd watch over the child before heading home. Make sure he got home safely." She replied, looking over the village and looking towards the setting sun. "_I can't wait to see the moon. Its always a pleasant sight." _

"Alright Neko-kun. See you tomorrow." Spoke their team captain, before both the Uchiha ANBU jumped off the roof of the tower and started running along other rooftops to the Uchiha compound.

Yugao watched them run off before jumping onto the nearest roof and started running towards where she sensed Naruto was at. "_You make it to easy to find you Naruto. Perhaps once you start learning more about chakra control it'll be hard to find you." _she mused to herself, as she jumped one more roof spotting Naruto in front of the mask shop.

* * *

Memna, Naruto's newest alias, walked through the village streets looking in different shops, smiling that the few people who saw him, gave him an acknowledging nod instead of yelling at him and throwing things at him. He put his hands into his pants pockets, keeping his head high.

"**So kid, seems your new teachers have a decent grasp on what to teach you." **the demon fox spoke through Naruto's mind, catching the child by surprise.

"_You can talk to me without me being inside my mind?"_

"**Of course I can talk to you, I am a part of you. Don't write me off as something you don't need to deal with. I will not be ignored by a human as unworthy as yourself."**

"_Unworthy huh? Last I checked, you were the one locked inside of me."_

"**And last I checked, it was because of me that you haven't died yet brat. Do not mistake my assistance with your healing for kindness. I only heal you because I do not want to die, for if you die, I die until I can manifest enough chakra to take form once again." **the Kyuubi spat out, growling at the gall that this child had, to speak to a demon like him, the Nine-tailed fox. "_**I swear kid, if it wasn't for this cage, I'd squash you like a bug."**_ the fox thought to itself.

"_And I thank you deeply, though I had no idea it was you who has kept me alive this long until today. But I still thank you." _He spoke to the fox before stopping in front of the mask store, noticing all the different animal masks that were there.

"**You should get a black fox mask, it would match your outfit and also iconize me."**

"_True, but why would I want to iconize you. I don't even know you."_

"**Insolence! How dare you talk back to me! You owe your life to me! Speak to me like that again, and I will not teach you a damn thing, understand me kid?!" **roared the demon, giving silent praise to the kid that he is willing to stand up and poke at a tailed beast as powerful as him.

"_I understand Kyuubi. So a black fox mask huh? I don't see them selling anything black, most of the masks are white."_

"**So then ask them if they make special masks upon request. Are all humans this stupid?" **the fox mumbled, wondering how the puny humans ever got anything special that they wanted.

"_Fine, I'll ask."_

"**Hmmm." **Kyuubi responded in his atypical manner of ending a conversation.

Naruto was about to step inside the shop when he heard a voice behind him say, "What are you looking for Menma?" He grinned, knowing that only a few people knew his new name.

"I'm going to look to see if they have any special masks I could buy or ask how much it would be as I don't really like the white one with the black outfit I'm wearing." He responded, not turning around, knowing it was Neko-sensei. He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked into the store, half expecting the shop owner to recognize him by his blonde unruly hair that still was visible even with his mask on. After a few minutes of looking around and not getting yelled at, he walked on with abit more confidence, his sensei still walking behind him quietly.

Its getting pretty late you two, is there anything I can help you find in particular?" the shop owner asked, noting the time was almost around 8 PM and he needed to get home to his family.

"I'm just looking for a black mask with fox whiskers." Naruto answered, looking at the man smiling, though the smile being hidden by his mask.

"I'm sorry son, but we don't have any black fox masks. I could put one in as a special ordered mask, it would cost you abit more. When would you want it?"

"Whenever you're not too busy, I'm sure you have many special requests. How long does it take to make a mask?"

"Not too long, a day or two at most…" spoke the man as he got out a pen and paper, ready to write down details, "What would you want the mask to look like?"

Naruto thought for a moment, "A completely black mask with six orange stripes as whiskers, relatively thin marks. And could you put on an elastic covering that I can put over my head to cover my hair?" he asked politely as he watched the man writing down notes and prices.

"Alright, the total would come to about 10,000 ryo. If you come by in about two days, I'll have the mask ready. Can I get a name?" the shopkeep asked politely.

"You know I can't do that." Naruto grinned before putting his hands back in his pockets. "Thank you for your help, I'll see you in a few days!" he exclaimed proudly, before walking out giving the man a wave.

"You handle yourself well Menma." Spoke the ANBU woman putting a hand onto his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Almost too well for someone of your age and background." She complimented.

"Well, I do have a few people to look up to now and need to live up to their standards. I did make them a promise." He spoke in return, walking beside his sensei.

"And be sure to continue, you'll make your precious people proud. Oh and could I ask you something?" she looked down at him before getting down onto her knees. "Could you stop pulling pranks all over the village? I would appreciate it as the cleanup for such actions is quite intense."

Naruto looked at her and hugged her, "I can try Neko-sensei, but I can't guarantee anything. But for my sensei's, I'll try." He let her go and smiled at her, "I should probably get home and get some sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow morning." He said before walking off to his apartment.

"See you tomorrow Menma." The ANBU woman said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves and returning to her own place.

* * *

Naruto arrived at his apartment about a half hour later and looked at the graffiti painted around the door. 'Demon child', 'Leave the village, you don't belong here', 'You're not wanted here'. Many things were painted around the doorway, which always made Naruto think to himself why the village hated him so much, but after today, he knew why. In his body, he held the Nine-tailed fox, the bane of Konohagakure.

He opened the door and walked inside, closing it only to reveal a dirty and bare apartment. His couch had rips and tears in it, as if he had gotten it from off the streets. Ironically, he did. He had a table and two chairs in the middle of the room. He would only have one, but sometimes oji-san would stop by and visit with him when he wasn't busy dealing with paperwork. In the far corner of the room, which was away from the window, was his bed with his dresser across from it. It wasn't that extravagant of a home, but it was his home. He had pictures of all the Hokage on his ceiling that he stared at on many a lonely night, contemplating how life would be like if he was a Hokage. "_I'll get there soon. I only need to get people to acknowledge me."_ he thought to himself. He walked over to his dresser and put in the new black clothes that Shisui had gotten him, putting his older clothes in the drawer beneath it. He took off his mask and set it on top of the dresser. He walked over to the cabinets and took out a ramen cup and heated it up with water before eating it and heading over to his bed, laying down and staring up at the pictures on his ceiling, focusing more on the Fourth Hokage than the rest. "_I'll be stronger than all of you combined. I promise."_ He thought to himself before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3 - Training Day

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

Also this will not be a harem unless one of the readers can really change my mind away from that or unless they want to see a different pairing. I do not like to write to canon because it limits creativity in my mind, but at the same time, I will keep some parts of the story as canon because it had a good plot/storyline. Hypocritical? Sure. However, thats how I choose to write. I will also be doing my best to keep to the characters personality. That being said, lets get into the story :) Hope you enjoy!

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****"Jutsu"  
****_(Jutsu name)_**

**Chapter 3: Training Day**

Naruto woke up the next morning at 8 AM and grabbed a bowl of cereal to eat before heading out towards the training grounds. He grabbed his mask and put it on and looked up at the pictures, smiling before opening the door and leaving. He started walking towards the grounds that he was told to meet them at, taking in the quiet time of the early morning. _"Not too many people are out right now. Its rather nice and quiet, I like it. Its better than the alternative, thats for sure." _Naruto kept walking, his hands in his pockets, stopping by a small lake to gaze into the water beneath, slowly losing himself to the calmness of the water. He finally tore himself out of his stupor when he started hearing the village become a little active, so he started walking again. By the time he arrived at the grounds, it was about 9 AM and he saw Yugao was already there. _"Must be off duty since she's not wearing her mask right now." _He watched on as she pulled her sword from its sheath on her back and started performing different katas that he had no idea of. He decides to step out of the forest area and into the clearing, taking a seat to watch her.

"Good morning Naruto-kun. I hope you're in for a rough day of training." Yugao spoke as she moved onto the next kata, never breaking form. She had been practicing her kenjutsu for years every day in the morning just to be sure she never lost touch of it. Sure, there hadn't been any real major wars in awhile, short of the small battles she had been apart of on the borders, but that didn't give her an excuse to not practice. She stopped her final kata and closed her eyes, reaching out with her chakra, sensing Itachi and Shisui were almost there. She smiled and sheathed her sword and turned around to Naruto at the same time that Itachi and Shisui landed beside her.

"Good morning Naruto." Itachi stated, showing a slightly invisible smile. "We're going to start your training today as I'm guessing you have finally gotten used to the gravity seals by now. So, I want you to create roughly 140 shadow clones if you can, if you can make more, thats fine too."

Naruto looked curiously at Itachi, "Why do I need to make so many clones and how exactly is that going to help with training?" he asked.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes for a second before opening them and looking at Naruto. "We went over this yesterday, but I'll explain again. The shadow clones are capable of storing memories, so what one clone learns is transferred to you upon them dispersing. In a training sense, each clone is going to do what they think is going to work. So with one clone, what would take 3 days to learn, would take a day and a half. What would take years to learn, could be brought down to mere months of training with the use of shadow clones. As for why you need to make 140 clones is because we're not going to be able to teach you forever and I would like you to learn as much as we can teach you. We're only on guard duty for you for a month, then a new team will be assigned to watch you. Understand?"

Naruto nodded and put his hands together in the Tiger seal and focused his chakra. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He releases the seal and grins as the large cloud of smoke behind him disappears, revealing 350 clones of Naruto. "Not bad, you know?" he grins behind his mask, each of his clones also wearing masks.

Shisui stared in shock at the sheer numbers of clones Naruto was able to make, looking over at Itachi and Yugao, neither showing shock. _"Imagine what this kid can accomplish if he has that high of chakra levels already at such a young age." _

"Alright, since he's created 350 clones, each of us will take 30." he stated as he made two clones himself, knowing that only two were his limit. He looked over to Yugao and Shisui, "Shisui, you need to make one clone and Yugao, you need to make 2 clones." They both nodded creating the clones as requested. "Alright, each of us will disperse into our own groups with 30 of your clones, however, the original Naruto will stay with the original me."

* * *

Naruto gave a thumbs up as his clones started going with their each own respective teacher to learn respective items from his senseis. "Why do I stay with you, Itachi-sensei? I figured it would be best if I went with Shisui-sensei for taijutsu training or Yugao-sensei for sensory training." he spoke as he stayed where he was while looking at Itachi.

"Because we're going to do some physical training. I want you to do 500 pushups, 500 sit ups, 750 squats, and I want you to run around the training ground 20 times." he stated coldly, knowing that the gravity seals were only going to make it harder, but he had the entire day to work on it. He sat down and pulled out a scroll from his pouch and opened it and began writing in it and reading it.

The first clone of Itachi walked to one side of the field, staying in the middle to leave room for the other clones of Yugao and Shisui, even though the training ground still had plenty of room to maneuver in. "Alright, so, genjutsu is used to alter someone's mind into thinking something is happening when its not. The easiest way to get out of it is to focus a large amount of chakra inside yourself, then release it as a burst through your entire body."

"Itachi-sensei, how would we know we're in a genjutsu?" one of the clones asked, scratching his head.

"Good question. Most cases, a genjutsu user is quite skilled at what they are doing, so it will be hard to notice. However, most times, there will be something that happens that would tell you that you're in a genjutsu, either by a change in time, wind, weather, events around you happening, and so on. You just have to be on the lookout for these subtle twists. Now that you know that, lets see how well you get out of a genjutsu." His eyes change over to his three tomoe sharingan and put the clones into a genjutsu without saying anything and began sparring with him and each of the clones.

The second clone of Itachi walked to the other side of the middle field turning to his group of clones and looked around to each of the groups, noting the amazing progress Naruto is making with each of his teachers. "Alright. Fuinjutsu is the art of seals. The Uzumaki clan that you come from was well known for their knowledge in fuinjutsu, so this should come well to you. There are many seals of different kinds, it just depends on how you write them. Inside your pouches are pieces of empty paper, take them out and the ink bottles and we'll go over the basics of storage sealings and more."

* * *

One of Yugao's walked over to the river that went through the training ground and looked over to the clones of Naruto, even though she was a clone herself. "Alright, water style ninjutsu is a flowing element, when you make the seals, think of a flowing chakra and then let it out quickly." She made a few hand seals, then raised her hands beside her. "**Suiton: Mizu Shuriken****"** _(Water style: Water shuriken)_ she stated calmly as water came up to her fingertips and she began throwing them at one of the wooden posts, leaving deep marks and a wet log. "Now its your turn, Tiger, Rat, and Snake seals. This is a C-rank jutsu so it takes little chakra. After that, we'll go over more water jutsu until Itachi-kun calls it a day."

The second of Yugao's clones walked over beside the tree line before stopping and looking at her group of 30 clones. "Alright, sensory skills are crucial but takes very little chakra unless you're wanting to focus over large ranges. On top of that, you can sense the chakra levels of other ninja and how many there are if you become skilled enough. There are many ways to sense other's chakra, but I only know of my own way, that being I send my chakra out like a web network through the ground." Yugao sat down and waved her hand as an order to make the other clones sit down as well.

"How do we send out our chakra like that? Seems difficult really." one of the clones stated casually.

"It is at first, but once you learn how to do it, its rather quite simple." she stated. "For me, I close my eyes and just focus on just letting my chakra flow through me, into the ground, and then out. Just try it and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time flat."

The original Yugao walked to the other side of where her clone was teaching Naruto how to use sensory skills. She turned around to look at her clones and rubbed the bridge of her nose, before putting her hands on her hips and looking at the sky. _"How am I going to teach you kenjutsu unless you have a sword or something usable as a sword..."_ she through to herself. _"Remind me to buy you a sword that way your clones will have one as well."_ "Alright, well, I'm supposed to teach you kenjutsu, or the art of sword fighting, however, since you don't have swords, use a kunai instead but hold it as you would a sword." she watched as all the clones pulled out a kunai and held it the way they saw her hold hers when she was doing her katas. "Alright, we're going to start out with the simplest of katas, being the Snake kata." She moved fluidly from one slow slash to the next, each one after that being just as fluid. "Alright, now that you have seen how to do it, lets work on it all together."

* * *

Shisui walked to the opposite side of the field that Yugao was at, "Alright, I'm going to teach you fire ninjustu. We'll start with basic ninjutsu and go up to more advanced ninjutsu." He did a few seals, while stating calmly **"****Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu****" **_(Fire style: Great Fireball Jutsu). _"When doing fire jutsu, think of the chakra burning in your chest and then just spitting out an inferno of chakra. This fireball jutsu is a C-rank jutsu, so it takes considerable chakra to control. The seals are Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Once you learn this, we'll go over more fire jutsu." he stated, watching on as the Naruto clones began attempting to perform the jutsu he just showed.

The clone of Shisui looked at the clones of Naruto and grinned. _"This should be interesting. Clones against clones."_ "Alright, taijutsu is usually close combat and person to person. So you need to be fast and strong. Now lets get started." he stated as he started charging at the clones, watching them duck and dodge and trying to land hits on him, he wasn't going to hit any of them as he didn't want any of them to disappear, however, he didn't want to go easy on him or himself either, so he began using kunai and shuriken to add into the taijutsu training.

* * *

Hiruzen gazed out the windows, leaning back in his chair, enjoying seeing the people start to blunder about the village. He was trying to figure out which team or even who were going to watch over Naruto in three weeks when Itachi and his team are given new assignments. _"Hrm, maybe Anko could watch over him, or maybe just Yugao. She's always been a soft hearted girl." _He looked over to the calendar, _"The 11__th__ of October, no wonder there was a lot of commotion yesterday. I should stop by to see Naruto and see how he's doing. Maybe give him some extra money this month for Ichiraku."_ Hiruzen stood up and walked over and picked up the box that was always filled with Naruto's monthly allotments, which was set up at the time of Minato's and Kushina's deaths, who were vastly wealthy considering their skills and how often they went on missions before Minato became the Fourth Hokage. He left the Hokage tower and began walking towards Naruto's apartment, nodding and smiling at the villagers as they greeted him in turn. He arrived at Naruto's apartment a few minutes later and knocked but received no answer. Hiruzen frowned, _"Naruto always answers his door. Maybe he's at Ichiraku or pulling a prank on someone." _He knocked once more before pulling out the spare apartment key and opening the door. Walking in, he didn't see anything different. The room looked the same as it always did, bare, unlively, and unhospitable. There was nothing there, short of the clothes on the floor that would signify someone living there. He put the box of money on the table and took out a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote: _"Here's this months allotment, I hope you have a great day. Hope you had a good birthday, come by sometime to get your present. - The Third."_ After leaving the note and money on the table, Hiruzen left the apartment and headed back to the Tower, the place he dreaded returning to because of all the paperwork.

* * *

Naruto lay on the ground, panting, every muscle in his body aching and sweating profusely, so much so that he had to take off his mask and shirt to get cooler faster. He looked over to his left, to see all his clones were still working hard at mastering Kenjutsu, Water ninjutsu and sensory skills; looking over to the right, more clones were working hard at Fire ninjutsu and taijutsu, though there were a few that had been dispersed due to some sort of contact, which had caused their gains and thoughts to be transferred to him; while in front of him, he saw his final groups of clones still combating with Itachi's clone and dispelling new genjutsus put on them as they left them and putting together different kinds of seals. He closed his eyes and relaxed, trying to catch his breath and get a rhythm going with his breathing. He was going to be hurting for awhile, but he knew that the Kyuubi was probably going to help heal his muscles faster and make them stronger.

Itachi looked up at the sky, noting where the sun was at, indicating it was time to call it a day. Whistling loudly to gain everyone's attention, he waved everyone over to join him, which took a few minutes. "Alright, everyone can disperse their clones, including you, Naruto." he made the tiger seal and dispersed his clones as everyone else did the same. Naruto sat up and grinned as he dispersed his clones as all their knowledge, memories, skill learning, and thoughts came flooding into his own mind, while he quickly put it all together.

"Wow, you guys really covered a lot today!" he grinned, talking to his senseis. "If I keep learning like this, I'll be stronger than the Fourth Hokage in no time!" he gave a thumbs up and his patented fox-like grin. He grabbed his shirt and put it back on, no longer too hot and put his mask back on too, which looking at his mask, reminded him that it would be another day before the shopkeep had his fox mask ready. "So, what time do I show up tomorrow?" he asked enthusiastically.

Yugao looked at Naruto before looking at Itachi, "Show up at the same time you did today, and please, start eating healthy foods, whole wheats and grains. Ramen is nice, but don't let it be your meals every day." she stated, smiling at him before putting her cat mask on.

Itachi looked at Yugao and nodded in agreeance with her. "Neko has a point, eating ramen all the way will actually stunt your growth as a shinobi and Konohagakure does not need weak shinobi." he stated putting on his dog mask, watching Shisui put on his bird mask. "Tori-san, we need to speak to the Hokage privately about some clan matters, get his opinion and directions." Shisui nodded and left with Itachi in a wisp of smoke.

"Do they always talk like that to each other?" Naruto asked of Yugao.

"Yeah, usually, but they are also each others best friends. So maybe that makes it ok." she shrugged and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow Menma-kun."

"Wait, before you go, can you teach me how do disappear like that?" he asked politely, wanting to learn abit more before turning in for the night.

"Sure. It's called Shunshin no Jutsu _(Body Flicker Jutsu)_. Its a D-rank skill that utilises a burst of chakra through the body to move really fast, though you need a distraction if you're using it in battle, such as smoke, leaves, or something along those lines. And you use the Ram seal. Try it sometime, it definitely helps when you're needing to travel somewhere and are running late. Oh, and the amount of chakra you use is dependent on how far you need to travel, so its not always practical to use." she grins at him and shunshins off, a group of leaves left in her wake.

"_Hrm, a burst of chakra through the body to move quickly." _He puts his hands together to form the Tiger seal and creates 20 clones, each of them with the intention to learn the Shunshin no Jutsu, each of them trying to get to the log across the clearing. After about an hour of training, one of his clones finally succeeded in it, which made Naruto grin. He dispersed his clones and sorted through the newfound knowledge. _"Hehe, now I can prank even more people and get away easily." _He shunshin-ed back to his apartment and opened the door, seeing a box and a note on the table. He opened the box and smiled, seeing the monthly allotment that he always got and put the money into his frog pouch; which was soon to become a storage seal. He picked up the note and smiled at the Hokage's writing. Sure he wasn't all that fond of his birthday, but he was glad that someone had remembered it and that they were giving him a gift. He decided he would take a shower before showing up at the Hokage tower.

* * *

The ANBU team assigned to Naruto showed up in front of him. "Report." he spoke to the team captain.

"Naruto is doing fine and well. Noone tried to beat him today." the smooth black-haired dog ANBU spoke.

"Excellent, you may leave." he spoke as he waved his hands off.

"Hokage-sama, there is something that Tori-san and myself wish to speak to you about... its about the Uchiha clan." Itachi spoke, looking over at the masked Yugao as she took her leave.

Hiruzen put up a few privacy seals that the Hokage room was usually filled with before looking at his team. "Proceed."

* * *

Naruto put on a new pair of clothes, tossing the dirty pair into the small washer of his apartment, waiting until he had a few more pairs of clothes to start it. He picked up his mask and put it on before leaving his apartment. After locking his door, he shunshin-ed to the Hokage tower and knocked on the door, putting his mask into his pouch. He waited for a verbal command to enter. "Hey Oji-san. Your note said you wanted to see me?" he smiled as he walked in the door, closing it behind him.

"Naruto-kun! My boy!" he smiled as he got out of his desk, giving the small four foot blonde a hug. "I see you've changed your outfit. You're beginning to look like a shinobi. So tell me, how was your birthday?"

Naruto shrugged, "It was okay. I got beat up in an alleyway after eating some ramen that Ayame-chan had made special for me. Other than that, it was fairly quiet and lonely..." he spoke, his voice soft and sad as he looked to the ground.

"Well, I'm sorry about that, please don't hate the villagers. They don't mean it. I'm sure most of them are just misguided."

"I know why they do it... why they treat me so different..." he said solemnly.

"You do?" he asked, hoping Naruto didn't really know.

Naruto nodded. "I am the jinchurikii of the Kyuubi. I found out when the villagers beat me in the alleyway on my birthday. The Kyuubi helped heal my wounds." he kicked at a small splinter that was on the floor. "Its ok though, I still forgive the villagers. They are still my comrades, even if they beat me every other week."

"Why do you forgive them if they always treat you so badly?" he asked, confused at Naruto's answers and thought patterns.

"Well, if I can't forgive them, how will they ever acknowledge me when I become Hokage? How would they ever accept me as Hokage?" he spoke, looking up and giving a small smile.

"_He's wise beyond his years and has a huge heart."_ "Thats very noble of you Naruto-kun. Very noble, indeed." He walked over to his desk and opened one of the drawers taking it out. "I wanted to give you this. Its a scroll, left by the late Fourth Hokage. He asked me to hand it to you on your eighth birthday. I'm not entirely sure whats in it, but it need your blood to open it. I'd suggest reading it when you're alone," he opened up a second drawer and picked up a paper envelope and handing it to Naruto, "I also wanted to give you this. Go on, open it."

Naruto opened the envelope to find a small card in there, on it written, "Acceptance to Konoha Academy" He got wide eyes and smiled big. "Thank you Oji-san! I'm gonna be a real shinobi! I can't believe it!" he hugged Hiruzen and let him go, staring at the acceptance card.

"That took some twisting to get Naruto-kun, but I got it for you. You can enroll when you're 10, give you some time to learn about some basic stuff about the shinobi world. Don't let me down, Naruto-kun. If you keep the path you're on now and the attitude you have now, your comrades and village will always be behind you." he spoke wisely, giving Naruto even more hope of becoming Hokage. _"You'll make a fine Hokage."_

Naruto smiled and hugged the Hokage one last time before heading to the door, "Thank you so much Oji-san! I'll never forget this!" he left the Hokage tower, putting his mask on before exiting into the streets of Konohagakure, still excited at what Oji-san was able to do. He shunshin-ed off to his apartment, not caring who saw him as he walked in the door and locking it. He put the card and the scroll onto the table and made himself some ramen dinner, noting to buy some groceries later to cook full healthy meals as his senseis instructed him to do. He looked over to the scroll left by the Fourth Hokage and wondered what it was. _"I'll read it later. I need to get some rest for my training tomorrow, then once Itachi-sensei is no longer able to teach me, then I'll read it." _he threw away the ramen cup and headed to bed, pushing just abit more chakra into the gravity seals to make himself stronger.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, as always, feel free to leave your reviews as they are appreciated. Also, if you have any ideas or thoughts on what you would like to see, just PM me or something. See you guys next chapter, which will be out in a few days. **

**Til then. I'm out.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Letter

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

Also this will not be a harem unless one of the readers can really change my mind away from that or unless they want to see a different pairing. I do not like to write to canon because it limits creativity in my mind, but at the same time, I will keep some parts of the story as canon because it had a good plot/storyline. Hypocritical? Sure. However, thats how I choose to write. I will also be doing my best to keep to the characters personality. That being said, lets get into the story :) Hope you enjoy!

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****"Jutsu"  
**_(Jutsu name)_

******Chapter 4: The Letter**

******XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX********Time skip of 6 months **

Naruto had just woken up and sat up, he was going to try to learn more jutsus and sealings today. He had gotten a new apartment, what with saving up money from his allotments and having a new name, he was able to live in a nicer area, one that usually had the upper class families in it, but more specifically the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans. Their compounds were not too far from each others and there was quite abit of land in between the two which he had thought about building his own compound with the mission money he would get and possible bounties from dead ninja. He got out of bed and put on his black pants and walked into the living room, looking at the many books and scrolls scattered about the floor, opened to various pages about various subjects ranging from Konohagakure history to high level jutsus. Looking over the books and scrolls made him think back to how he had obtained the many books and scrolls.

******FLASHBACK**

It had been two months since Itachi and his team had been reassigned to new tasks and Naruto sat on the top of a lamp post, looking at the library of the Leaf. Inside that building housed many scrolls and books on many various subjects, subjects he wanted and needed to learn if he was ever going to become Hokage. He expanded his chakra network and felt the presence of three shinobi in the library and one abit away from him, which he noted was probably the person assigned to watch him. Under his black fox mask, he had his fox-like grin, knowing he'll get away from his pursuer once he got the books he needed.

"_Alright Kyuubi, what books and scrolls will I need for your training regiment?"_

**"****Everything on elemental jutsus and sub-elemental jutsus, herbs and healing, and the history of Konohagakure. Of the history though, you need to focus on Uzushiogakure."**

"_Why Uzushiogakure? I've never even heard of the place." _Naruto scratched at his mask, where his cheek and whiskers are, in thought. _"Did Uzushiogakure start something?"_

**"****Uzushiogakure was known far and wide for their fuinjutsu. After you get the books, head back to your apartment and you will begin studying every book and memorizing everything in it. As for the jutsus, we'll go to the Forest of Death to practice them."** The Kyuubi behind the gates and dragged his claws over the wooden bars, leaving marks in them from boredom. **__****"This kid needs to get strong and fast if he's ever going to call himself a shinobi and be my container."**

"_How many books should I get at one time?"_

The Kyuubi grinned evilly,******"As many as you can carry runt. Now, leave me alone until you need me again, I'm tired and must rest."**

"_Tired... right, because you do anything but sleep."_ Naruto commented towards the fox, hoping to get a rise out of his life-long friend.

**"****How dare you! I am the one who has been able to help you with the overly intense training that those Uchiha demons had you do! Without me, you would have been thoroughly exhausted and your muscles would have been constantly sore and tired! Watch the way you speak to me next time, you pathetic runt of a human or the first time I get out of this cage, I'll eat you myself!" **The Kyuubi roared at his container, growling at him.

"_Yeah yeah yeah. Thats if I let you out of this cage."_ The only response Naruto got was a growl from his pet fox. He rolled his eyes and shunshin-ed into the library, noting the many, many rows of books and scrolls, taking in the fact that they were sectioned off into their own respective categories. Naruto walked to the history section and began putting books into the storage seals he always kept on him. He looked around to make sure noone was watching him before putting away the sealed books into his right hand pouch and made his way to the herbs and healing. Once at the herbs and healing section, he did the same thing as in the history section, loading his seals with books and putting those seals into the right side pouch. He stood up and checked to see if he had anymore seals, _"Two more seals, probably good enough for what I need." _He looked around for the elemental section, noticing it was in a section with a grand archway into it. _"Wow... so many books."_ He didn't really need the use of clones as the elements were also separated into their own areas. He went down each row, grabbing every book he could find that would have more information on jutsus as well as advanced techniques, putting the books into his final two scrolls before putting them away. He grinned at his success and shunshin-ed back to the entrance and walked off, his hands behind his head, scratching at the black mesh that covered his blonde spiky hair.

"You should return those books Menma-kun." spoke up a purple haired cat ANBU.

Naruto grinned, "What books are you talking about Neko-chan? I only went inside to take a look around." Attempting to remain as innocent as possible. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gift in a box. "It's actually a good thing you're here, I wanted to give this to you." he smiled at her, "It's to thank you for everything you've done for me."

Yugao took the box he handed her and opened it, inside was a necklace with a crescent moon amulet that had an amethyst stone in the middle. She smiled softly at it, it was a great gift and she enjoyed it tremendously. "Thank you Menma-kun, I'll never take it off." she said as she put the necklace on, a soft blush coming to her cheeks at how it fit perfectly between her breasts, thankful that he couldn't see her blush and elated that he was so thoughtful. "You still have to return those books as they are for all of Konohagakure to read and learn from."

"Oh come on! I'm sure the library has many copies of the books I borrowed! I'm going to return the books as soon as I'm done with them! Promise!" he exclaimed, trying to get his watcher to let him go quietly, which so far doesn't seem to be the case.

"Regardless, you still need to return them." she responded, stepping towards Naruto.

"Hmph, fine, but if you want me to return them, I hope you catch me." Naruto grinned and laughed as he made five shadow clones, all of them saying in turn, "So which one is the real me?" they all laughed and jumped onto separate rooftops, looking down at Yugao, each one giving her a thumbs up.

"We're going to do this again, really?!" she exclaimed back in exasperation. Every time they played this game, she always got covered in paint on the few occasions that she was able to get the right Naruto. "Fine, but no paint or traps."

"I can't guarantee that, I do have a reputation to keep up as the prankster of Konohagakure." one of the Narutos stated, grinning at her. "How about this, if I get you again, I'll buy you dinner tonight at Ichiraku when you get off duty." he asked her, giving her a proposition to fail purposely.

"That sounds great, however that means I'd get paint all over me again and would consequently need to wash my hair multiple times before I'd go out." she looked at the Naruto that spoke first claiming to be a prankster. _"Got ya brat!"_ She jumped at the second of the five Naruto clones, taking out her wire and trapping him in it.

"Oh no! You got me!" Naruto grinned evilly, "Or did you?" He makes a hand sign and whispers "Boom..." and explodes into a shower of purple and orange paint, effectively covering Yugao with splatters of it. "One down, four to go Neko-sensei." he grinned as all four of them jumped off the roofs and went different ways.

Yugao groaned and wiped off her mask. Shaking her head she took after another one of the Narutos, hoping she doesn't get splattered with paint again as she was getting tired of constantly washing her hair. Though on the bright side, her hair has never been softer and smoother, to which she did thank Naruto.

******FLASHBACK END**

Naruto felt bad about covering her with paint all the time, but he needed this knowledge so he could perform new jutsus. He created ten clones, leaving each of them to study more of the books as there were still plenty more that have not been read yet. He got his shirt and mask on and looked at his nightstand. On the nightstand was the letter left for him from the Fourth Hokage, which still had yet to be read. _"I should probably read that at some point, maybe today. I'll have my clones do training and I'll read that._" He nodded to himself and left the apartment, shunshin-ing off to the training grounds that he used when his teachers were training him. **__****"Taji Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"**(_Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)_ All in a poof of smoke to cover half the field, was six hundred Naruto clones. Naruto then divided his clones into thirty groups of twenty clones, working on various jutsus and skills and also working to create sub-elemental jutsus, which he was going to try to find more information on later. He shunshin-ed away and back to the apartment and went to his bedroom. He looked over to the scroll, before walking over and grabbing it, going to his bed and sitting down. It looked like a normal scroll with his name on the front of it.

**"_Hey, Kyuubi, what do you know of the Fourth Hokage?" _**Naruto asked of his tenant, knowing that he was defeated by the Fourth Hokage from the history books that his clones have read.

**"****That guy..."** he growls, ******"Why should I tell you anything about him?"**

"_Because I asked you fluffy ball of fur! Why are you always so difficult to talk to?"_

**"****Because you humans deserve no help from us tailed beasts. All of you are the same." ** the kyuubi countered, his head still resting on his paws inside his cage in Naruto's mind.

"_That doesn't mean you can't answer a simple question."_

**"****Fine, but if I do, you have to do something for me."**

"_What do you want Kyuubi?" _Naruto asked, getting more irritated that he was having this argument with his tenant.

**"****Change the scenery in your mind for me so I have room to move around for starters." **The Kyuubi grinned, his claws scraping the watered floor.

"_In order for me to do that, I'd have to alter the seal that you're contained in."_

**"****Exactly..."**

"_I don't know enough about the seal that's used to contain you to alter it enough to keep you contained."_

**"****Thats why I told you to learn about Uzushiogakure you damned brat!" **He growled at his jailor, his claws clicking over the floor.

"_How about, when I do learn how to alter the seal, I change it then?"_

**"****Afraid you wouldn't be able to control me otherwise? Is it because you're too weak to fight me?" **

"_I'm only 8 and a half! Give me a chance furball!"_

**"****Until you think you can defeat me, don't request information from me unless it benefits you getting stronger!" **The Kyuubi growled at his jailor.

"_Fine... one of these days though, you're not going to hate humans as much as you do."_

**"****Thats what they all say, but none of them do anything different."**

"_Well I will. I promise! Believe it!"_

**"****Hmph."**

Naruto shook his head before looking at the scroll again, untying it and rolling the beginning part of it open.

_Dear Naruto,_

_If you're reading this scroll, it means that I'm dead and that the Third Hokage has deemed you mature enough to know this information. _

_First off, let me tell you who I am. My name is Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, otherwise known as Konoha's Yellow Flash. I am also your father. I ask that you not tell anyone this information as there are still many enemies around that did not particularly like me, and as consequence, would probably seek to end your life if they knew you are my legacy to our village. _

_I hope you aren't too mad at me for sealing the Nine-tailed Fox inside you. Your mother had just given birth to you and we were attacked by a masked man that pulled the bijuu out of her. Yes, your mother was a jinchurikii too. I regret not being able to stop the rampage of the bijuu and was forced to seal him inside you before he destroyed the village even more. _

_I used the Hakki no Fuin Shiki _(Eight Trigram Sealing Style)_ to seal him, in the hopes that one day you could use the bijuus power for your own. _

_I hope that your life hasn't been all that terrible and as I watch you from the heavens, know that your mother and I loved you deeply. If your life has been bad, please don't give up. Your mother would always tell me, "If you give up, everyone else will give up on you." The life of a shinobi is a hard one, the trials you will go through will make you a strong shinobi. Always keep in mind, you are a shinobi of the Leaf, the son of the Fourth Hokage, and an extraordinary person. I have high hopes you will do the shinobi world some real good. _

_That being said, to hopefully recount for making you the jinchurikii, speak to Jiraiya-sama about the key to the seal. Also, if you wipe your blood over this seal at the end of this scroll, you will get another scroll, take this scroll to the Hokage and show it to them. They will know what to do from there. _

_Again, I hope you aren't too mad at me for sealing the fox inside you and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I love you Naruto._

_Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage_

_P.S. Ask the Hokage about the Namikaze compound and getting the land deed to it. It is a large bit of land that you can use as you see fit, though you might need to use some of your mission earnings to build onto it._

Naruto finished reading the scroll and leaned back against the wall, taking in all that he read. He had a father, albeit he was dead, but he had a father and it was none other than the Fourth Hokage. He began silently crying at the newest findings that he had just read about. He cried for at least a half hour before gathering his composure once more, wiping away his tears.

"_That would explain the similarities with our hair color." _He stated, looking up at his ceiling and staring at a picture of the Fourth Hokage in his white cape, who was giving a thumbs up and a grin. "I wonder what kind of man you were Oto-san, a good, kind one I hope. And who the hell is Jiraiya? I've never heard of such a man in my life." He looked back towards the scroll and unrolled it abit more to see an altered form of the storage seal. Biting his thumb, his wiped his blood over the seal, his blood being drawn into the seal and another scroll coming out. _"Might as well go see the Hokage about this."_

* * *

Naruto left his apartment a few hours later, deciding to personally read some history on the Fourth Hokage and the night that the Kyuubi attacked, gleaming no extra information than what he already knew. He was walking towards the Hokage tower, greeting random passers-by and store vendors as he passed. As a masked character, they showed him great hospitality, though as Naruto, they showed him none. It was saddening to him that he couldn't be his true self in his own village, which caused him great inner turmoil, sometimes bringing him to thoughts of leaving the village.

"_If I left the village, noone would miss me except maybe a few people. Though, then I wouldn't be able to become Hokage and show the villagers who I really am. Of course, if I left, I could easily get more powerful than any shinobi from the Leaf ever has and then come back. Probably something I'll think more about later. I wonder what Yugao-chan would think if I left. I wonder what she's doing anyway?"_

He reached the tower and knocked on the Hokage's door, entering it shortly after knocking.

"And to whom do I have the satisfaction of meeting?" The Hokage asked, not having known of a child with a fox mask.

"Really? You know who I am. I received this scroll from a storage seal in a scroll I was given by you." Naruto reached into his pack and grabbed the scroll that had the kanji for 'Hokage' on it, handing it over to his grandfather figure. "The scroll said you'd know what to do with it."

Hiruzen grabbed the scroll and looked at it, opening the scroll and reading the contents of it. "Wait here a minute." He walked over to the space between his two bookcases and made some hand signs, placing his palm on the wall, the wall opening up to reveal a set of stairs.

"_The Hokage's hidden room, seems all the rumors I have read about were right. Interesting. I wonder what secrets lie down there?"_

"Do not enter this passageway, it is forbidden from anyone who is not a Hokage."

"All the more reason to become one I suppose." Naruto grinned, snickering to himself.

Hiruzen shook his head, before walking down the stairs. Thirty minutes later, he came back, carrying a small pack of books and scrolls. "This is everything the Yondaime left to you Naruto. I'm not sure all what you read about, but your father loved you very much."

"I know Oji-san, his scroll said as much." Naruto looked down and sighed softly before looking back up. "I was told to ask about the Namikaze land deed. What happened to it?"

"Ah, the land deed to the largest compound in Konohagakure. Many people have been trying to buy that land as it is great for many things and indeed quite large..." he walked over to his desk and opened the center drawer, rummaging through it before grabbing a folder and handing it to Naruto. "The Namikaze compound is not too far from here actually and is situated by the western wall and its about five hectare of land. To put it in perspective, a training ground is usually only one hectare of land."

Naruto whistled lightly. "That is a lot of land."

"The Namikaze compound is third in size compared to the Uchiha and Hyuuga compounds." Hiruzen stated, bringing out a map to show the sizes of the three compounds.

"Why's the land so large if there's noone remaining in the Namikaze line except me?" Naruto asked, looking at the map, noticing how the three compounds resembled the three points of a triangle. _"Curious, probably nothing to it though.."_

"I can only venture to guess that Minato-san was attempting to bring his clan or the Uzumaki clan together when he bought the land, but never actually got around to it. Instead, I know he used it as his own personal training grounds and taught his own students there instead of the traditional training grounds. Was there anything else you wanted Naruto-kun?" he asked of the child standing in front of him.

"Yeah, could you not tell anyone that I'm still alive? As far as the villagers know, I'm dead right now. I have already come up with an alias, Menma Shonjiki and would like to be known as that from now on. When I feel comfortable revealing my true identity, I'll do it then."

Hiruzen nodded, "As you wish... Menma-kun." _"Already thinking like a shinobi. Whoever his teachers were, they taught him well."_

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Thank you Oji-san." he shunshin-ed away from the tower and went back to his apartment to look through the books and scrolls Oji-san had just given him. He walked inside and noticed that it was getting pretty late, around 5 PM. He walked over to the couch and released his clones for the day, getting a slight headache from the massive wealth of new information he was learning through his clones, taking the next two hours to meditate and analyze it all. After eating some dinner and changing, he headed to bed, deciding that he would take the day off tomorrow to study the scrolls and books left by his father.

Naruto woke up the next morning, no longer having a headache and made himself some oatmeal breakfast, eating it in his room as he started sifting through the books and scrolls. He found one that was titled "The Hiraishin no Jutsu", remembering that it was that technique that made the Fourth Hokage such a dangerous competitor and what got him the nickname Konoha's Yellow Flash. Naruto opened the book and began reading it, noticing that most of the book was just notes and seals and formulas, each of which referring to getting the way the seal and technique would work together. He flipped through the pages, reading the notes and formulas, slowly piecing together why it took so many variations to make it work. He had read half the book and came to realize that his father wanted him to recreate this jutsu and utilize it for the good of the village. He took a kunai and copied the seal that his father had made onto the hilt of it, looking back at the notes again, _"Focus your chakra into the seal and throw the kunai, and recall a small bit of the chakra to yourself"_

Naruto walked into the hallway and threw the kunai at and into the wall in the living room, drawing a small portion of the chakra from the kunai, quickly being teleported to the kunai. As he wasn't expecting to move so fast, he smashed his face into the wall, successfully breaking his nose and causing a nosebleed. "Damn it. I guess I need to learn how to use this while fighting without causing myself harm." He took the kunai out of the wall after having fixed and healed his broken nose, walking back towards his bedroom. He continued reading the book, finding out a new piece of information. _"Utilize chakra blades to allow chakra to be held more effectively."_ "Now where do I get chakra blades?" He kept reading until he had finished the book and closed it, putting it on top of his nightstand, mentally telling himself to study the book closer upon a later time.

He started sifting through more books and scrolls, noting there were many scrolls about advanced fuinjutsu, books about Uzushiogakure, books and scrolls about the Uzumaki clan, and many scrolls and books about the Second Hokage and his use of the Hiraishin no Jutsu. He made a few clones and decided to go for a walk to check out the Namikaze compound he had just inherited. Grabbing his mask and putting it on, Naruto left his apartment and headed towards the Namikaze compound, keeping his senses spread in case any shinobi were following him, but ever since he changed apartments, no ANBU teams were assigned to watch over him.

**"****So, the Fourth Hokage decided to give you his original jutsu, eh brat?"**

"_Morning to you too Kedama-sama. Yeah, what of it?"_

**"****Call me that again and I'll make your life a living hell."**

"_You mean, you haven't already?" _Naruto replied, grinning as he spoke to his friend.

The Kyuubi growled, not knowing exactly what to say.******"I can make it more of a living hell than you've experienced so far and believe me, it can be made worse. You haven't even begun to feel a portion of my power and hatred."**

"_No, but surely that hatred can't be good for you Kedama-sama and there has to be some way to get rid of it. I'm not sure how, but I'll figure it out. Thats what friends do, right?" _The kyuubi was silent, unsure how to respond to the kid's response about being friends and taking away his hatred. _"So what did you what?"_

**"****Be sure not to overuse that jutsu the Fourth Hokage has given you. If you do, you'll be killed quickly because you'll be in the Bingo Book."**

"_Doesn't matter if I'm put in the Bingo Book or not, I'm not going to die until after I make Hokage and live a long prosperous life."_

**"****Don't let Kami hear you say that or she'll do her best to make sure you find out otherwise."** The Kyuubi growled out softly before going back to his own business.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and laughed to himself as he turned the final corner to the compound and stood in front of a large roadway, leading to a large magnificent building. The building itself looked like a very large, very rundown dojo. It had four red pillars in the front holding up a white roof, all of the pillars cracking with wear and the tiles falling off or missing. The windows were closed on the outside and had a lock on them in the middle, the locks obviously rusting away due to the lack of attention, while the wooden panels that covered the windows were falling away slowly. In the middle of the building, was a set of double doors with a swirling circle painted in the middle. The symbol paint was fading and the doors were starting to fall off the hinges. All in all, the building would have looked magnificent in its prime and if it wasn't so run down.

Naruto walked down the roadway, noticing the bountiful piles of unkempt leaves that littered the ground along with the many layers of weeds. He walked around the left side of the building, noticing more decaying window covers, more weeds and more piles of leaves. _"How long has this place gone without the single touch of a villager?" _He kicked through the piles of leaves as he came upon a wooden fence and pushed open the gate, causing the gate to practically fall off. He looked around what he assumed was the backyard, weeds as tall as him blanketed the area. To him, it looked like a jungle, minus the trees. Looking over towards the building again, he noticed many vines climbing the walls and through the windows and whatever other crack and crevice they could grow through. He signed sadly and jumped up onto the roof of the building, flowing chakra to his feet so as not to fall off as tiles became loose and fell to the ground below.

He noticed that the fenced in area had three other doors, leading to three different training grounds, though one wouldn't be able to tell they were training grounds as they were covered in weeds, fallen trees, and random sprouting trees. He sat down and started thinking about everything that he was going to have to do to; pull weeds, cut grass, uproot trees, lift trees, chop wood, replace windows. Just thinking about the work gave him a slight headache. _"Great, looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me to fix up this place..."_


	5. Chapter 5: Rules and Betrayal

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

As previously stated, I do not like to write to canon, but some parts will be as per canon. Though that will be up to my discretion. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the reviews:

butterflypuss: I am not sure what Itachi wore when he had a mask on, as I can't find any references anywhere. But yes, I believe Kakashi was an Inu ANBU.

This chapter is going to have a few twists and turns in it, so I hope you enjoy it.

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****"Jutsu"  
**_(Jutsu name)_

******Chapter 5: Rules and Betrayal  
**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Time skip of 1 year, 6 months**

Naruto, wearing his Kitsune mask, showed up to the Academy and noticed there were plenty of other hopeful ninja there and noticed a board in the front of the school, which is where everyone was crowding around. He decided to sit back and wait for everyone to clear, noticing a spiky raven-haired boy doing the same thing. Naruto looked at the boy, taking in the fact that he was about four feet tall, an Uchiha judging by the red and white fan on his back and the blue clothes he wore. He also noticed the black eyes, trademarks of the Sharingan holders, just as white eyes were trademarks of the Hyuuga clan.

"Annoying group of people isn't it Uchiha-san?" Naruto asked, turning his eyes back towards the group, watching it decrease slowly. "By the way, I'm Menma."

"How do you know I'm an Uchiha?" the raven-haired Uchiha asked.

"Easy, the fan on your shirt and your black eyes. Both are trademarks of the famed Uchiha clan of the Sharingan." he responded casually.

The boy raised an eyebrow at him. _"Baka. Who does he think he is? He's not an Uchiha, so why does he know about us?"_ "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, son of Fugaku Uchiha who is the head of our clan. How do you know so much about my clan?"

"I read it in books. Madara was written about a lot and he was described to have the same features as most of the Uchiha around the village."

"We try not to talk about Madara, he's a blemish on the great Uchiha name.." Sasuke states, pushing himself off the tree he was leaning on, "Though I give you this warning, if you are in my class, stay out of my way. I have to impress my clan and can't have anyone be better than me, got it baka?"

"Got it. You have an ego issue, seems to run in the clan." Naruto responded, grinning lightly.

"_Baka!" _Sasuke got a tick mark on his forehead before turning around punching Naruto with a right hook, causing the boy to fall to the ground. "Don't talk about my clan like that." Sasuke turned around and walked to the board, which was now somewhat visible due to the shrinking crowd.

"_Nice hit! Looks like I've got myself a rival!" _Naruto stood up and rubbed his cheek lightly, though because of the mask, he couldn't really touch it. Thankfully he had started pouring chakra into his mask or it might have cracked under the force of the hit. He walked up to the board and looked for his name. _Menma Shonjiki... _moving his finger upwards, _Classroom 103. _He noticed Sasuke's name as he went towards the top. Snickering to himself, he thought, _"Oh, this should be fun."_ He walked into the Academy and went to classroom 103, noticing there were only nine shinobi-to-be in the room, noticing what he sensed was a Chunin level shinobi who had a large scar of the bridge of his nose. He looked for a seat and noticed it the only one available was next to Sasuke. "Hi again, Uchiha-san."

"Baka." Sasuke retorted, without looking towards him.

"Alright class, today starts your two year training to become a shinobi, learns the rules of shinobi, and the ways of shinobi. Granted, the best way to learn is through experience and missions, but you won't be doing that until you have graduated from the Academy. My name is Iruka Umino, I will be your teacher for the next two years as well. When you speak to me, you will address me as Iruka-sensei, understood?"

"Yes Iruka-sensei" the entire class says in unison.

"Alright, lets get started over the basics of being a shinobi. Chakra."

* * *

Hiruzen sat at the head of the semi-circular table. On the left side, sat the civilian council to include his advisors (as much as he disliked them) Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. On the right side, sat the shinobi council which consisted of the heads of the clans that lived in Konoha and Danzo, who was the overseer of the ANBU operations.

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki, he hasn't done a prank or been seen in days?!" Homura asked, irritated that noone could find him, even the apartment he lived in was empty and bare of any belongings, despite the councils harsh strict and unanimous agreement to keep the demon boy confined to one area.

"Naruto Uzumaki is in safe hands, I assure you." Hiruzen stated, puffing on his pipe.

"We agreed that Naruto was not to be moved from that apartment without our notification!" she screamed at the Third Hokage. "Where is he?" she demanded.

"I didn't move him, nor do you need to know where he is. As I stated, he is in safe hands, probably the safest we've ever seen." Hiruzen responded in turn, knowing that today was Naruto's first day at the Academy.

Homura placed her head into her hands and rubbed her temples lightly, starting to feel the oncomings of a headache, realizing that Hiruzen wasn't going to tell her or anyone where the demon child was being kept. He had been 'missing' for two years, though they still saw new pranks and paintings every day, noone had actually seen him.

"Alright, onto the next order of..." Hiruzen was interrupted by two ANBU members appearing before him in a wisp of smoke. "I hope its important for you to interrupt a council meeting ANBU."

The Tori and Inu ANBU bow before the Hokage, the Inu ANBU speaking up taking notice of the entire shinobi and civilian council, "Yes Hokage-sama, it is quite important. However, I would like to speak to you in private about it, without the Council present."

Danzo spoke up at this time, "I request to be present when this information is reported. I am the overseers of the ANBU operations, there might be something I need to assign to a team."

Hiruzen looked over to his previous teammate, "Request granted. Everyone else, leave." The council stood up grumbling their disapproval at being kicked out from overhearing the newfound information. He focused his chakra through the room and privacy seals showed up, covering the walls. "Speak."

"Hokage-sama, we have reason to believe that the Uchiha clan is planning a coup d'etat to usurp the mantle from you and proclaim Konohagakure and the Land of Fire in the Uchiha name." Inu spoke, keeping his head bowed.

"These are some very serious accusations, Inu-san. Please remove your mask so I can see who speaks such."

Inu and Tori both removed their masks, revealing themselves to be Itachi and Shisui Uchiha of the Uchiha clan.

Danzo spoke up, "Quite surprising that two Uchiha members would betray their own clan."

"It is. Do you have any proof of the accused and who will be leading the supposed coup d'etat?" Hiruzen asked, concerned for his village's safety more than his life.

"We do." Shisui spoke, pulling out a scroll with a seal on it for recording voices. He poured chakra through it and the seal began to relay the voices recorded, speaking of a coup d'etat and when it would happen.

"Who is the one explaining the plan?" Hiruzen asked.

"The would be my father, Fugaku Uchiha, clan head of the Uchihas." Itachi spoke. "I think its best if we bring Fugaku-sama in for questioning and arrest."

"I don't believe so. I believe its best if the Uchiha clan was eradicated completely to prevent any further uprisings." Danzo spoke, his emotions speaking nothing but ill contempt of the Uchiha name. "If we don't act now and this gets out to any other clan, this poison will spread throughout the village like a wildfire that cannot be contained."

"Mmmm. This is quite troubling. Though I agree with you Danzo-san, I think there is a more peaceful solution to this than you are willing to accept. Itachi-san, Shisui-san, what is your take on this and your solution?" the Third Hokage spoke, still puffing on his pipe as he went over the relayed recording in his mind.

Shisui spoke up first, "I agree with you Hokage-sama that there is a more peaceful solution, however, I do not feel comfortable killing an entire clan all because of one event to prove a point to others. I have to agree with Itachi-san though that I think Fugaku should be brought in."

Itachi looked over to Danzo, trying to read him to see if he had a hidden agenda as he began to spoke, "I'm fairly positive that if we bring Fugaku-san in and question him as well as begin peaceful negotiations with the Uchiha clan, that the coup will no longer happen and the Uchiha won't even think about it again. Considering that its Fugaku-san who brought up the idea of the coup, the idea will also fade with him in custody." Itachi noticed the almost absent frown and worry in Danzo's mouth and eyes, keeping a mental note about it, listening to the Hokage hum with his options.

"Hokage-sama, if we negotiate with the Uchiha, then that would show the other clans we are willing to negotiate with them and it would only continue until we had a civil war in our midst..." Danzo was cut off before he could finish.

"I understand Danzo, but if we authorize the genocide of an entire clan, that is already a civil war, if not the start of it." Hiruzen stated looking at Danzo, wondering what his motives were to have an entire clan annihilated. "As such, Itachi-san, Shisui-san, I authorize you, Shisui, Neko, and Snake to take Fugaku into custody under charges of treason, premeditated murder, and conspiracy against the Land of Fire..." He noticed the two ANBU team members putting their masks back on, "I want him brought to Torture and Interrogation, _immediately._ This is an S-rank assignment, speak of this to anyone else besides the authorized members and you'll find yourself with Fugaku in Torture and Interrogation. Go!" Hiruzen waved his hand as his two ANBU disappeared, to complete their assignment.

"I believe you're making a big mistake Hokage-sama." Danzo stated as he stood up and bowed, before taking his leave.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and puffed on his pipe. _"I hope you're having a better day than me Naruto-kun."_

* * *

Yugao had just stepped out of the shower and walked over to the full length mirror, wrapping the towel around her body. Today was her day off and she was going to make the most of it, or what she could at least. Of course, being an ANBU member also meant that your day off could be renounced at a moments notice for any real reason. She grabbed a brush off of her vanity table and walked up to the mirror brushing her hair, looking at the silver necklace with the amethyst moon that Naruto had given her. She smiled softly as a small blush took to her cheeks. _"Does he really see me like that?"_ she asked herself as she looked at herself in the mirror. Every shinobi knew the meaning behind silver jewelry, at least most shinobi did. Though it wasn't taught in the Academy, it was learned through the family that dated back to the First Hokage, who gave his wife a silver rune-encrusted ring. _"Should a shinobi give another a piece of silver jewelry, they are offering themselves to the other and binding their life to that person. In order to accept such an offer, the gifted shinobi must also present a piece of silver jewelry of equal or greater value to the gifter shinobi."_ She recited in her head. She had no idea how much the necklace had cost or if she wanted to be bound to Naruto, after all, he was 6 years younger than her. He probably didn't even know of the rule, let alone meant anything by it. She frowned at the thought of Naruto being with someone else, after all, if it wasn't for Naruto, she'd probably have left the village by now.

**FLASHBACK**

Yugao was sitting inside the Ichiraku Ramen store, eating a bowl of miso ramen thinking about the breakup she just went through. She'd been with Hayate Gekko for about three years and she decided to give him a silver ring, smiling as she handed it to him, though he frowned and handed it back saying he couldn't accept the offer of the silver jewelry. She frowned and held back her tears as she poked at her soup, having only eaten half of it.

"_Maybe I should leave the village, get away from here… and him."_ She thought to herself, trying to get Hayate's face out of her head. _"What did I do wrong? Am I not attractive enough? Am I not strong enough? Am I not enough for him? What is it?" _She didn't notice that someone else had walked into the store and sat down, ordering two bowls of miso ramen.

"Are you ok, Yugao-sensei?" spoke an all to familiar voice to her, which snapped her out of her own thoughts, quickly wiping away a few tears that had escaped.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking Memna." She lied, doing her best to sell a fake smile to him.

"You're a liar. I can tell you are." Naruto said as he received his two bowls of ramen. "Ramen time! Yeah!" he started slurping a few noodles before looking to Yugao again. "You know, whatever has made you upset, I hope its nothing too serious as I don't like seeing you upset."

She had almost forgotten that Naruto had become an extremely talented sensory ninja after she had taught him, not only to learn more after reading the books he stole from the library. Yugao smiled softly, "It really is nothing, just an old relationship of mine was just ended because he didn't want me." she replied honestly as she looked at her student. Sure, he was only going on 10, but he still was moderately attractive, especially his whiskers, though she couldn't see them as he had his mask on.

"I see…. Well, in my opinion, if he doesn't want you, then you're better off without him anyway." He stated between bites of noodles and meats.

"How do you figure Menma-kun?" she asked, turning towards him, leaning an elbow on the table, wanting to hear his explanation.

"Well, because if he didn't want you, then that means you're now free to find someone else. You're no longer wasting your time on a lost cause that wasn't going to happen. In the end, the result will be better for you because now you can find someone who is going to want to spend their time with you, whoever that may be." He had finished his first bowl, and had moved onto his second bowl.

Yugao smiled softly, knowing her young student was right. _"Thank you Naruto-kun, you're wiser than most give you credit for. Must have been all those beatings you took growing up."_ She smiled softly and then turned and began eating her ramen, talking with Naruto about random things, but mostly about his upcoming Academy days.

**FLASHBACK END**

Yugao dropped the towel and looked over her body in the mirror. She was about 5'4" and slightly tanned skinned, the only scars she had was on her arms and the ANBU tattoo that every ANBU member has. Her long purple hair reached down to the middle of her back and was soft and smooth, due to the constant washing she did when she would have to watch over Naruto. Her arms were toned and not overly muscular, while her hips were petite not really made to carry a baby on but still wide enough to carry children, her long legs were well defined and smooth. She ran her hands over her stomach, which was flat and toned as well, while her breasts were at least a firm C-cup with perky nipples due to the cold air. _"I wonder if any man will truly get to know the real me that stands in front of this mirror. I'm attractive enough, but that doesn't mean I'm good enough." _She had turned around to look at her back and rear, trying to think of herself in the light a man would, constantly looking up at the necklace that was beside the mirror. She grabbed it and put it on, the amulet resting right between her breasts, causing anyone who would want to reach for it to have to put their hands between her breasts.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door, which caused her to jump, "Who is it?"

"Its Snake, Inu, and Tori. Get dressed, we need to go, now!" the voice spoke from behind the door.

"Ok, give me a quick second!" She frowned and looked at her body in the mirror one more time, hoping it was good enough for a man later down the road. She quickly threw on her ANBU outfit and grabbed her mask, putting it on and leaving. She saw her teammates and Snake waiting, "Whats our mission?" _"So much for a day off and lounging around."_

"To arrest Fugaku Uchiha and bring him to Torture and Interrogation." Inu replied before jumping away towards the Uchiha compound with his teammates in tow.

* * *

"Alright class, lets do a bit of taijutsu sparring. First up, Ino and Sakura. Please step into the circle, make the sparring sign of friendship and begin." The two girls stepped into the ring, glaring at each other, making the sign of friendship and took on the form they just learned in class. The match only lasted a few seconds, in which both Ino and Sakura managed to knock each other unconscious, causing the class to laugh. Iruka spoke up, announcing each set of sparring partners, each having a victor or coming to a draw. "Sasuke and Menma, please up to the circle."

Both shinobi stepped into the circle, "You should just give up Uchiha-san, you can't beat me." teased Naruto from behind his mask.

"Shut it baka. I'm going to beat you and then rip that mask off your face."

"You can try, but I can guarantee you it won't happen." He said grinning as they both made the friendship sign and backed away from each other ready to fight. Naruto just stood there, waiting for Sasuke to run towards him, seeing him do so not a few seconds later. Naruto, not wanting to show off, blocked the punch to his face but took a knee to his stomach, which caused Sasuke to grin.

"I told you, I'm going to beat you. I'm superior to you and always will be." Sasuke spoke, looking down at Naruto, reaching down to grab the mask, "Now lets see who's underneath this kitsune mask."

Before Sasuke could grab the mask, Naruto had grabbed his wrist, spun Sasuke around, and kicked him in the back to push him forward and away from him. "And I told you, you're not getting this mask off me." Naruto came forward and reached out to punch Sasuke, not moving to let him block his punch as he brought his knee up to Sasuke's chest, causing him to become winded and kneel over trying to get his breath again. Naruto haunched down and looked at him, "Funny, the great superior Uchiha lost a tiny sparring match. You'll make a great friend and rival." He stated before pushing Sasuke onto his side and standing up, walking out of the circle to join his classmates, hearing them talk amongst themselves about who was better, the classroom ultimately being split into two fan groups.

"Alright, now that the sparring is over…" Iruka spoke as he looked down to see Sasuke getting up and breathing somewhat normally, though still holding his chest, "Now we'll go back inside to learn about chakra nature and chakra control."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei." The class spoke in unison, falling into step behind him, each of the students talking to another. Naruto hung back to walk beside Sasuke.

"No hard feelings, eh Sasuke? I thought it was a good match." Naruto smiled offering his newly acquired friend his hand.

Sasuke looked at the boy offering his hand to him and shook it firmly, making sure to squeeze it a bit tightly. "No hard feelings at all, you just got lucky. Should we ever fight again, you won't be so lucky." Sasuke released Naruto's hand and walked in front of him. _"Baka… I'll get you next time."_

* * *

The ANBU team arrived at the Uchiha compound and stopped at the entrance to the clan head's home. "Snake, can you be the one to do the arresting? I don't want him to realize it's me when the charges are read to him." Inu spoke to his comrade.

The white-haired Snake ANBU nodded, "Sure. I can do that, but you're going to have to put the chakra seals and restraints on him when I'm reading the charges, you too Neko. Tori, you'll be backup in case he decides to fight." The three ANBU members nodded as Snake stepped up and knocked on the door.

"Just a second!" came a soft voice from inside the house. The door opened revealing a woman carrying a small child and looked at the four people in front of her. "Can I help you?"

"We're need to speak with Fugaka Uchiha please ma'am, immediately. Its quite urgent and needs his attention." Spoke the white-haired ANBU, using a silver tongue to get his desired result.

"Sure, wait here." The woman left the door open and went back towards the hallway, calling down it, "Fugaku-kun, a team of ANBU is here to see you! They need your advice on something." She heard a response and smiled as her husband began walking down the hallway to the door.

"Thank you Mikoto-chan, please give us a minute?" He spoke to his wife, kissing her softly before stepping outside and closing the door. "What can I help you four with?"

Inu and Neko stepped around Fugaku and quickly placed two chakra seals on his wrists and chakra chains on him as Snake began to speak. "You are hereby under arrest for treason, conspiracy against the Land of Fire, and premeditated murder. As a shinobi of the Leaf, you are required to come quietly or risk execution. We will be escorting you to be questioned, after which the term of imprisonment will be up to the Hokage."

"You're making a mistake. I've done no such thing, but I will come quietly and cooperatively." Fugaku spoke as the ANBU he was surrounded by, began leading him towards the Torture and Interrogation building.

Fugaku sat in a chair, his hands and feet bound to the floor and arms of the chair, each restraint he had on was held down with chakra absorption seals. He looked up to watch Ibiki come in. "Good afternoon Ibiki. Surely you can let me go as the accusations here are falsified and incorrect."

"Sorry Fugaku, but I have my orders, now, you will tell me everything you know about the coup d'etat that the Uchiha clan is planning. I would suggest you be honest as I really would hate to use my tools on you." He spoke the last bit of the sentence with a twisted pleasure, as he enjoyed breaking someone's mind to the point that they spilled everything to him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. There is no coup d'etat. The Uchiha are happy with where we are at." Fugaku lied, not wanting to give out any information. He would have to implement every bit of his harsh training he received from his father to not break and spill his plans.

Ibiki looked over to the one sided mirror where the ANBU team and the Hokage stood before turning back towards Fugaku. "One last chance Fugaku, and I'm being generous. Either tell me your plans or I'll begin a harsher way of extracting information from you."

"I told you, I have no information on any coup!" Fugaku exclaimed, trying to sell his innocence.

Ibiki grins as he walks over to a table of tools and picks up a syringe and flicks the needle, walking over to Fugaku and sticks the needle into the mans arm and injects the liquid into it.

"What the hell did you just inject into me?" the Uchiha clan head asked, as he started to feel searing pain where anything was touching him.

"It's a serum that amplifies the nerve endings for pain, making the slightest touch.." he emphasizes the word 'touch' by sliding a finger down Fugaku's arm, "feel as if that area is being sliced open to the deepest part of your body and then burned." he finished as he listened to Fugaku's groaning of pain, grinning as he has begun to enjoy this interrogation. "I can always make the pain stop by giving you the antidote, but I need answers. Now, you know my question. Answer it."

Ibiki continued to ask questions, each time, the question being the same until finally, Fugaku's mentality broke, "Yes! I planned a coup d'etat to take the mantle of Hokage for my own! Now please make the pain stop!" Fugaku pleaded.

"Why did you plan the coup d'etat to begin with?" Ibiki asked, sliding a feather over Fugaku's arm, listening to his screams.

"I was paid to plan it at first but then I saw how much better the Land of Fire would be if under Uchiha control." Fugaku answered, not fighting anymore as the pain was beginning to be unbearable.

"Who paid you?"

"Danzo."

* * *

Danzo began to pack a bag and a few pouches, making sure he burnt any scrolls that contained any information about his illegal activities and communications. In all his shady wisdom, he had forgotten to put a secrecy seal on Fugaku, thinking that his plans would have gone on without a hitch. He knew Itachi and Shisui would find out about the coup, but he didn't expect the Hokage to not listen to him. His plans at acquiring a mass amount of sharingan had just gone out the window, and now, he needed to escape before Fugaku broke. He finished packing his stuff and planted exploding tags throughout his house, leaving quickly. He ran up the wall surrounding Konohagakure and looked down at his house, making a few seals. **"Doton: Bakuhatsu chikyu."**_(Earth Style: Exploding Earth)_ His house then exploded, debris flying everywhere. _"This will give me enough time to escape as the ANBU will be looking to see if there is a danger anywhere else."_ Danzo leaped off the wall and into the forest below, taking off in the direction of Iwagakure.

* * *

Hiruzen frowned and hit his desk as he was told of Danzo's escape and his home being blown up. Danzo had many secrets about Konohagakure and he needed to be found and eliminated before someone else was able to capture him. That is, if they could actually defeat him, Danzo in his own right was at least a Kage level shinobi. "Snake... put Danzo's name into the Konohagakure Bingo Book. List every bit of data you can about him and put his bounty to 40 million ryo. I want him brought back as well, if at all possible, dead or alive."

"Hai!" Snake bowed before shunshin-ing away to the Logistics unit to give them the update.

"_Damn it Danzo. You were a good friend and a great military advisor. Why'd you have to go and play me under the bus!"_


	6. Chapter 6: Rivalry

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

As previously stated, I do not like to write to canon, but some parts will be as per canon. Though that will be up to my discretion. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the reviews.

Bastard Omega: Thats a good catch, that is something I looked over. Perhaps when I revise that chapter at a later date, I will fix it and explain how the letter came to be, or if the chance presents itself in a future chapter I will. Regardless, thank you for bringing that to my attention. :)

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****"Jutsu"  
**_(Jutsu name)_

******Chapter 6: Rivalry**

Danzo ran through the trees of the Land of Fire, mentally berating himself for not putting a seal onto Fugaku so he wouldn't spill his name. He knew by now, that he would be marked as a missing-nin and placed in the Bingo Book, as for what rank or the amount of the bounty, he wasn't sure. He let the thoughts go as he headed towards Iwagakure. He stopped on a tree-limb and took out a paper with a seal on it, before opening his mouth and placing the seal on his tongue. The paper melted away after being in contact with saliva while the seal burned itself into his tongue. He groaned as he felt the seal burn into his tongue, before continuing on his journey, pushing through the pain. He may have had secret dealings and may have done incredibly dangerous things, but if there's anything he was going to be remembered by, it wasn't going to be as a traitor. _"Its going to take at least a week to get to Iwagakure. Hopefully Oonoki will accommodate me, being an old friend of battle."_

* * *

Itachi, wearing his ANBU mask, walked towards the gates with his teammates and his father, Fugaku Uchiha. His father was condemned by the Hokage to 30 years at the shinobi correctional facility, the Blood Prison. His father was lucky to get that. The only reason why Fugaku was being sent to prison was because Itachi had asked the Council to allow him to live, so he can learn from his mistakes and come back to Konohagakure once his sentence was up. He stopped at the gates and looked at his teammates.

"Tori-san, I am placing you in charge as team captain. I cannot follow you on this mission." he stated to his friend.

"I understand Inu-san. We'll be back in a week."

Itachi nodded and left the ground, heading back to the Hokage's office. Under normal circumstances, he would have shunshin-ed into the office, but this meeting was probably one of the last he was going to have with the Hokage as an ANBU member. He knocked on the door and waited until he heard the Hokage's voice say 'enter'. He opened the door and walked in, bowing in front of the Hokage.

"Inu-san, shouldn't you be with your team escorting Fugaku Uchiha to the Blood Prison?" Hiruzen asked.

"Yes I should be, but I couldn't do it." Itachi took off his mask and placed it onto the Hokage's desk. "Even though I know what I did was right, I still feel a little guilty about placing my father into a jail cell. So I am requesting you accept my resignation from the ANBU immediately." Itachi sighed, it was unlike him to really show emotion much, except towards his little brother. "I would also like three weeks off from active duty before being placed onto missions again."

Hiruzen picked up the mask that was set on his desk and inspected it. As was always the case with Itachi, it was in perfect condition. He set the mask down and grabbed his pipe, putting some tobacco leaves into it, before lighting it up and puffing. "Your resignation is authorized. I understand your guilt all too well, Itachi-san..." Hiruzen said, his thoughts trailing off to a time when he chased after one of his own teammates, a soft sigh pulling him out of his thoughts, "However, I have a counter-offer for you. Since Fugaku has been arrested, the Uchiha clan is without a head leader, correct?"

Itachi nodded, "Yes, and I am sure the clan will appoint their own head of clan when the time comes."

"They would, however, the leader would have to be accepted by me. Now, as you are the first born son of Fugaku, and a genius within your own right, I would like you to take the place of Fugaku as the head of the Uchiha clan. That would take you off active duty for the most part, unless I saw a need of your special talents, and it would also allow you to assist me with more internal matters of the village by being on the shinobi council. So what do you say?"

Itachi looked at the Hokage, stunned to be given such an offer on such short notice. He thought about everything that his father had taught him about being a clan head and nodded. "I accept. I will go speak to the Uchiha clan about this myself. I will not let you down Hokage-sama." He bowed and turned around, leaving the Hokage's office.

"I know you won't Itachi. You've always been a loyal shinobi." Hiruzen said, puffing on his pipe.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Time skip of 1 year**

"Alright class, we're going to take a test. I want to see what you all stand in class." Iruka says as he passes out papers to each of the students. _"Little do they know, this is an IQ test."_ He walked back to his desk and opened a drawer, picking up a book that was part of the Icha Icha series, the second book of the installment. He was able to read for a half hour before the first test was given to him by a boy with black hair pulled back into a spiky hairdo, sporing a grey shit and black pants. "Thanks Shikamaru."

Shikamaru looked at his teacher before walking back to his desk to lay his head down, looking out the windows at the clouds. _"How troublesome. Why do I even bother coming to the Academy... maybe its cause of my kaa-san. She can be real mean when things don't go as she says. Of course, my father doesn't help much either. Why can't I just be a cloud? Float along without a care in the world..."_

Iruka sat back in the chair and watched the class as one by one, they gave him their tests, the last ones being Sasuke and Menma. He had noticed that those two had formed a good friendship and rivalry, always pushing the other. On one hand, Sasuke hated it when Menma beat him in anything, on the other, Menma just seemed to enjoy having some friendly competition. Though why Menma wore his mask all the time continued to baffle him. _"What are you hiding from Menma?"_ "Alright class, take an hour recess break. When you come back, I should be done grading your papers." He watched as the class left, Menma and Sasuke fighting about who finished first, before picking up a pen and beginning to grade the tests.

"I finished first baka. Just admit it!" Sasuke said as he punched Menma lightly in the arm.

"Did not! I did!" Naruto exclaimed back as they went to the shuriken posts. Little did they know that each of them had the entire class following them.

"How about we settle this with an accuracy contest." Sasuke offered, picking up five shuriken. "No jutsu, just throwing. The one who gets the closest to the center of each target wins."

Naruto looked over at the posts that were well worn from shuriken and kunai throws, "Deal, but when I win, you have to say that I'm better than you." Naruto grinned, teasing his friend.

"Fine." Sasuke said as he took stance and threw the shuriken at the post, each one hitting the designated target in the center. "Perfect hits. Good luck Menma-san." Sasuke walked up and grabbed his shuriken turning back to the circle as he listened to his group of people cheer. In his group was a boy with a dog on his head who he knew as Kiba, a girl with pink hair and a large forehead her name was Sakura, Shino who seemed to be more of a loner than anything else, and Choji who was always eating bags of chips, which would explain why he was fatter than everyone else.

Naruto stepped up and grinned at Sasuke as he too threw his shuriken, each of them hitting the posts in the same spots as Sasuke's. "So, what do you want to challenge me in now Sasuke-san." Naruto grinned as he walked over and grabbed his shuriken, turning back and walking to stand next to Sasuke, noting the people cheering for him in his little group. He noticed a small blonde girl with long hair first, he knew her as Ino, then there was the shy and bashful Hinata, an all too enthusiastic boy named Lee, and finally an aspiring kunoichi named Tenten.

"How about a sparring contest?" Sasuke asked. He had beaten Naruto a few times, though he also remembered the times when he was beaten. Though, usually when he was beaten, he was either winded or covered in paint.

"Fine. We can spar. First one to leave the circle loses." Naruto stated as he walked to the edge of one of the sparring circles, barely standing on the inside of it. "I'll even make it easy for you, Uchiha-san." he teased his rival.

Sasuke walked over and rolled his eyes, "Fine, but no clones. I'm tired of having to change clothes and my mom keeps asking me how I keep getting paint on me." Sasuke grumbled, remembering how much trouble he had got into the last time he came home with painted clothes.

"Fine. I won't use any clones. Come at me then." Naruto said as he watched Sasuke run towards him, noticing he had a one-tomoe sharingan activated. _"So you really do want to beat me. Is that why you're using your sharingan?" _he grinned to himself as he knocked Sasuke's punch away from him, moving his leg just a tad to take a hit from a kick, before moving his leg back under Sasuke's and pushing him, making Sasuke fall to the ground with ease. "'Rule number one, never underestimate your opponent.' Isn't that what Iruka-sensei taught us?" Naruto lectured, looking down at Sasuke.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why do you wear that mask? What are you hiding underneath?" Sasuke asked as he stood up and punched Naruto in the chest as he left himself open. "Here's a rule, don't let your opponent sidetrack you with meager conversations." Sasuke said as he watched Naruto's foot step outside of the circle. "I win! You stepped out of the circle."

All around the circle was the two groups giving a respective cheer or sigh from their idols winning or losing. "Yeah, I guess I did. However, whats underneath my mask doesn't concern you. You'll find out soon enough whats under this mask, when I feel its ok." Sasuke frowned, wanting to know what was so secretive about that mask. "We should get back to class, the hour is almost up."

A resounding 'awww' could be heard all around the circle as the students walked back towards the Academy. "About time they finished their incessant fighting, don't you think Shikamaru?" the pale eyed student spoke up as he offered a hand to the relaxing student.

Shikamaru took the hand of his friend, Neji, and let him help him up off the ground. "They're fighting is incredibly troublesome and loud. I just want to get this Academy training over with, even though that will only cause more work for me."

"Come on Shikamaru, its not that bad. One must follow their destiny to the end." Neji spoke up as he walked with Shikamaru back to class.

As the students walked back into class and sat down at their desks. "Alright, the test you took was an IQ test. After looking over and grading the tests, I am quite surprised at all of your scores. However, I am not going to tell you what your scores were, if you want to see them, come to me after class to get your tests. Otherwise the tests will be put into your file and added to your record." Iruka spoke, looking around at the students.

"Bet I got a higher score than you baka." Sasuke whispered to the masked boy next to him.

"Only one way to find out." he whispered back.

"Alright, now for today, we're going to go over the three demonstration tests you will be having to go through next year to graduate."

* * *

Danzo was shaken awake by his newest teammate, Kisame Hoshigaki of the Seven Swordsman, "Get up Danzo-san, we need to get moving. Pein-sama wants us to pick up more mercenary missions. Honestly, I don't see why you joined us in the first place, considering you branded yourself with a secrecy seal."

"Unlike you, Kisame of the Mist, I am not a traitor to my village. Missing-nin, yes. Violent leader, sure. Traitor, no." Danzo stood up and grabbed his straw hat, putting it on, looking at his right ring finger which now had a ring on it. He had done some research on the ring and found out that it allowed astral projection as well as telepathic communication from their leader. He also learned that this ring belonged to a previous member of the Ataksuki, who was killed by Kisame for saying the wrong things to him. "You know Kisame-san, we really should get to work on finding the jinchurikii. Especially since a few of them travel from land to land." Danzo spoke up. As he walked with Kisame to a mercenary outpost.

"We have our orders Danzo-san. We are to complete mercenary missions until your loyalty can be trusted and your abilities are fully tested." Kisame spoke, not enjoying the fact that he had to be paired with a newer member of the Akatsuki, even though his partner could go toe to toe with him.

**FLASHBACK**

Danzo was sitting in a bar in a small town a few miles away from Iwagakure. He had been allowed a temporary stay there for a few months but the council of Iwagakure didn't trust him enough to let him stay, so he had to leave. Since then, he just stayed on the outskirts of the village, waiting for anything to show up that would allow him to show he can be an asset. He sensed a man walk in with incredible chakra levels.

"Danzo Shimura of the Hidden Leaf, I am here for the bounty on your head, come quietly or I'll have to take you by force." the shinobi spoke. He was dressed in a black cloak with red clouds on it and carried a sword wrapped in bandages. He waited as Danzo turned around, eyeing his quarry with a feral grin.

Danzo looked at the man, who seemed to have a fishlike nature. Blue skin, what appeared to be gills underneath his eyes, and shark-like teeth. "Kisame Hoshigaki, missing nin of the Mist. Should be fun to collect your bounty as well. Lets take this outside because the only way you can take me is if you kill me."

Kisame grinned, _"I hoped you would say that."_ He turned and let Danzo lead the way to where he wanted to fight him, remembering what his leader had said to him, _"Do not kill him. Test his abilities and if he passes by your standards, bring him to me for recruitment. If he fails your test, then you may kill him." _He walked for a good thirty minutes before Danzo turned around.

"So, how much is my bounty?" Danzo asked, as he rolled up his sleeves, looking at Kisame.

"Forty million and it says you're also an S-rank with great abilities. I do hope you can give me a good show, I'd hate to kill you with ease." Kisame grinned, as he pulled his bandaged sword off his back.

"_Forty million, who knew I was worth so much."_ Danzo grinned as he made a few hand signs, "So then lets get started shall we!"******"Daton: Gurando konogona" **_(Earth Release: Ground Shatter)_ The ground underneath Kisame quickly crumbling away as he jumped into the air, only to be met with another jutsu from Danzo.******"Futon: Shinku Renpa"**_(Wind Release: Vacuum Blast Barrage)_ Danzo watched on as his jutsu hit Kisame with enough force to slam him into a tree.

Kisame stood up as if nothing happened and popped his neck, "So, you are serious. Good. This will be more fun." He charged towards Danzo and began a taijustu fight with him, while swinging his sword at Danzo, hoping to get just a few hits.

The fight lasted for two hours, ultimately ending up in a stalemate between the two because Danzo kept eating soldier pills to restore his chakra while Kisame kept drawing chakra from his famous sword, Samehada, which was no longer wrapped in its bandage. Danzo was panting on the ground, looking up at Kisame, "So, how much longer are we going to go at this?" he asked of his opponent.

Kisame growled and leaned against his sword. "You pass. Come with me. There is someone you need to meet."

"Thought you said you were turning me in for a bounty. What's your real game?" Danzo asked curiously.

Kisame grinned and shook his head. "That was only a ploy to get you to fight me so I could test you and your abilities. However, since you passed, I won't have to kill you because we want to offer you a position within our organization, but I'll let Pein-sama explain more about it to you."

The old war-hawk looked at Kisame. "Alright. Lets go." He thought to himself, knowing that he could use this information to get back into the good graces of Konohagakure, or at least he hoped he could.

******FLASHBACK END**

Danzo rolled his eyes at his partner. Even though he could probably stand to fight on equal terms with every one of the members, the fact that they didn't trust him completely didn't surprise him in the least. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked with his partner into the outpost that handed out mercenary missions.

* * *

Yugao stood outside the Academy and waited for the day to be over. She was wearing some normal civilian clothes that showed some ample cleavage, though with that came the unwanted whistles of the average perverted man. She was wearing a low cut navy blue shirt that covered her ANBU tattoo with a navy blue knee-length skirt that had slits in the side running up to the middle of her leg. She pulled out the moon necklace that Naruto had given to her and smiled softly, not realizing that she was slightly blushing. She heard the bustling of the Academy students as they ran out the door and running home to their families. Upon hearing Naruto's voice, she put the necklace away, the amulet resting between her breasts.

"It doesn't matter if you scored three points higher than me or not dobe, I'm still smarter than you!" spoke an angry raven-haired student.

"The test says otherwise, face it. I have a 173 IQ and you have a 170 IQ. I'm smarter!" Naruto threw back at his friend and rival.

"Just cause it says one thing on a test, doesn't make it true." Sasuke grumbled as he walked away from the Academy, the rest of his fellow classmates following suit except Ino and Tenten, who wanted to get some alone time with the masked boy.

"Menma-kun. There you are! I was wondering when you guys would be let go for the day." Yugao said as she hugged Naruto.

"Yugao-chan! I missed you!" Naruto said, hugging Yugao tightly. "You look different when not wearing your shinobi gear. Prettier if I could say." he smiled, blushing lightly behind his mask.

Ino and Tenten looked on in amazement, while little chibi versions of themselves were strangling a chibi version of Yugao. _"Menma-_kun_... Yugao_-chan..._ Who the hell is this lady? And how does she know Menma so well to be called -chan!" _Ino looked at Yugao, taking in the fact that she was definitely more woman than either of them, however, Ino could tell that she was older than Naruto obviously and everyone knew that a guy never got with an older girl. She grinned to herself as she walked up to her classmate, "Hey Menma-kun, want to go practice throwing shuriken or go get something to eat?"

"Sure thing Ino, let me just talk with Yugao-chan for a few minutes and I'll catch up." he said, giving Ino a thumbs up before walking away with Yugao and tilting his head up to look at her. She wasn't that much taller than him. He ventured to guess she was about 5' 4", while he was just shy of 4.5'. He knew he would catch up to her in height over time, "So whats up Yugao-chan? Normally you come to the house when you want to train or talk." Naruto smiled as he walked over to the opposite side of the field, before Yugao stopped.

"I was curious, how much did you spend on the moon amulet?" Yugao asked as she pulled the necklace out from between her breasts, rubbing the amethyst stone lightly, almost caressing it.

Ino and Tenten looked on in amazement at the boldness of this new woman, showing their rookie classmate a necklace that looked incredibly expensive. They both muttered to themselves as their chibi versions inside their heads kept strangling the chibi version of Yugao. "Tenten, you should go home. He won't have enough time to practice with both of us." Ino spoke up to her classmate, who was better at shuriken throwing than she was.

"No, its ok. I'm not doing anything for awhile anyway, besides, I can't let you hog Menma-kun all to yourself, can I?" Tenten grinned, noticing that Ino obviously wanted to be alone with Menma as much as she did.

Naruto looked at the necklace Yugao was showing him and smiled. "What does it matter how much I spent on it. It was a gift." he said, hoping to be able to get out of the question with ease.

"I'm curious. It matters to me. I just want to know if its something I should wear while doing missions or if it's something I should hold privately so as not to lose it." Yugao said before putting the amulet back into its original position.

"If you really want to know. It cost about 1.5 million ryo as the silver is pure and the amethyst is completely genuine." Naruto said, smiling again, having no idea about the rule of silver jewelry.

"Oh wow, that expensive! Wow! Yeah, I think its best if I keep it safe when I'm on missions. I'd hate to lose it in a fight." she responded, rubbing the chain softly, smiling softly to herself. "Alright, thanks Menma-kun. We should have dinner again sometime." She said kissing Naruto on the forehead and shunshin-ing away, which only caused the other two girls to start grinding their teeth together and getting tick marks on their foreheads.

Naruto beckoned the other two girls to join him as they wanted to practice shuriken throwing, not that Tenten needed it. Besides, himself and Sasuke, Tenten was the only one who could get a perfect hit every time. It was Ino who spoke up first, "Menma-kun, who was that and how do you two know each other?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment. He couldn't exactly tell her that she was his sensei and that he's been training for a couple years, nor could he tell her that he was someone other than what she knows him as currently. "We've been friends for a few years now. We bumped into each other at Ichiraku Ramen and our friendship grew from there."

"Ok... so what was she showing you about her necklace?" Tenten asked curiously, clenching her fists together, mad that another woman was showing interest in her classmate.

Naruto blushed slightly, "She was just asking how much I think it costed and how it looked on her." he lied quickly. Ino looked at the masked boy, irritated that she couldn't tell if he was lying or telling the truth, especially with that kitsune mask on him. Which ultimately made her wonder what he looked like underneath that mask.

He smiled at them both from behind the mask and said, "Alright, so who's going to be up first?"


	7. Chapter 7: Graduation

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

As previously stated, I do not like to write to canon, but some parts will be as per canon. Though that will be up to my discretion. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the reviews.

I'd like to apologize about the long time between the last chapter and this one, I had a few things in my life come up, but everything should be good for now. And with any luck, I'll be bringing out chapters at my normal rate. :) ENJOY! :D

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****"Jutsu"  
**_(Jutsu name)_

******Chapter 7: Graduation  
**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Time skip of 1 year**

"Alright class, now all you have to do is pass the two final ninjutsu tests and then you will be official Konohagakure shinobi and will all become Genin." He looked over his students and smiled to himself, everyone was ready to graduate. "Alright, first up is Ino Yamanaka."

Ino frowned and walked up to the front of the class, although she was confident with her abilities, she would hate to fail, especially in front of Menma. _"Why do I have to go first?"_

"Alright Ino, first perform the ******Henge no Jutsu**_(Transformation Technique)_ and transform into the Third Hokage." He watched on as Ino successfully transformed into his asked target. "Excellent, now release the transformation and now perform the ******Bunshin no Jutsu**_ (Clone Technique)_" He watched as the first jutsu was dispelled and a clone of Ino was created perfectly. "Excellent. You pass. Please take your seat so we can continue on with the test as fast as possible."

Ino took her seat, smiling smugly and looked up to Menma. _"I know you'll pass, I hope I'm put on your team too."_ She smiled as she swooned over the masked classmate, not paying attention as each of her classmates passed their tests, only coming out of her stupor when she heard Menma's name get called.

"Menma Shonjiki. You're the last one. Now, first the Henge of the Hokage." Naruto nodded and created a perfect transformation into the Hokage, grinning as he was told to the clone jutsu. He created two shadow clones instead of two normal clones as he wasn't able to do the normal clones jutsu. "Amazing Menma. You pass, now dispel the clones."

"Are you sure Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, grinning behind his mask.

"Yes, I'm sure. And then take your seat."

"Alright..." Naruto walked back to his seat, whispering over to his Uchiha friend, "Watch this." He looked back at the teacher and grinned, putting two fingers up to release the clones. "Boom..."

Iruka watched as the boy walked back to the desk and scratched his head as he looked at the two clones. He noticed Naruto made a hand sign and whisper something, "Menma... no!" he yelled out too late as he suddenly felt the explosion of paint of the two clones beside him, bowing his head in defeat. _"Damn you Menma. This was my best set of clothes! The least ruined!" _He sighed and lifted his head, wiping the bright orange and blue paint out of his face. "Alright, since you all passed, wait here while I deliver these and get your teams assigned. He left the classroom, muttering under his breath about the paint.

Naruto busted out laughing as did the rest of the class. "That was good dobe. Never thought you had the guts to prank Iruka-sensei." Sasuke stated, giving Naruto a high-five and a fist bump as had became their practice when one did something good. Despite the masked boy not being an Uchiha, he definitely gave Sasuke a run for his money when it came to sparring, which only added more flare to their rivalry but also added to their friendship.

"Thanks, I thought it was quite good myself, though I should have added more colors."

"You know Menma, you didn't have to do that and you shouldn't encourage him Sasuke-kun, you're better than that.. than him." said a pink-haired Sakura. She glared at Naruto, a little chibi version of her chasing him around while trying to hit him on the head with a bat. _"You're just ruining my Sasuke's chances of becoming a great ninja with your antics and your friendship." _

Tenten stood up, "Just cause you have a stupid crush on the second best shinobi doesn't mean that you get to talk about Menma the way you do. He could easily beat you in a match with his hands tied behind his back and eyes closed." she finished saying as she was now standing in front of Sakura, face to face as tiny lightning sparks flared between them and their chibi selves were pushing at each other.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he put his hands together and rested his elbows on the table to rest his chin on his hands. _"Annoying girl, always yelling at me for talking to Menma... when will she learn... "_

Naruto grinned behind his mask as the two girls began bickering back and forth over him and Sasuke. He closed his eyes and leaned back, escaping into his mind.

**"**_Heya Kendama-sama."_ Naruto spoke, looking around at the dull sewer drains and water, still wishing he could change the scenery but not knowing how it will affect the seal if he did.

**"****What do you want brat?"** The demon fox growled from resting atop his paws. He wished he had more room to roam and relax in, cause he wouldn't be as cranky then.

"_I was curious about something. Have you changed your mind about wanting to tell me anything about the Fourth Hokage?"_ Naruto asked, grinning. He knew that the Fourth Hokage was his father, but he wanted to know a bit more about him, and his mother as well.

**"****Have you changed your mind about changing the landscape?"** Kyuubi countered, still resting.

"_Are you going to try to kill me if I open the gate to change the landscape?"_ Naruto asked calmly.

The kyuubi growled lightly before giving a very toothy grin,******"Maybe... maybe not. Are you willing to take the chance?"**

"_Not really."_ Naruto sighed softly.

**"****Then no, I have not changed my mind."**

"_Fine... be a hateful little furball."_

The fox growled before cutting off the communication with his jailor, getting more and more irritated with him when he wouldn't change the landscape. He could be relaxing in a large hotspring instead of some dank sewer water that smelled to have grown stale.

Iruka walked back into class and was flipping through the papers with the teams and who their new jonin teacher would be. "_This is going to be interesting and fun. A lot of people are going to be disappointed."_ As he walked in, he noticed that the class had gotten really quiet, so quiet he would be able to hear a pin drop. They were all looking at him with their utmost rapt attention. "Alright class, you are going to be divided into teams based on your strengths and weaknesses." He paused as he watched the class look at one another. "Alright, first up. Team Ten will be Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi."

"_Well, at least I'm with friends. However, this is going to be more trouble than its worth."_ Shikamaru thought to himself, looking over to Choji who was eating a bag of chips and Ino who was frowning.

"_Awwww. I'm not going to be on the same team as Menma-kun…"_ "Iruka-sensei is there any way we can change teams?" Ino asked, looking over at Menma, hoping that there was a chance.

"No Ino, all these teams were finalized and approved by the Third Hokage. There is no way you can change teams until you make chunin." Iruka answered before going back to the papers.

"Why do you have to be chunin before you can change teams? Isn't there some sort of special circumstance that can allow you to change teams?" Ino pleaded somewhat, a small chibi version of her biting her nails while crying a little.

"The reason why you have to be chunin is because once you get promoted to that rank, you will be assigned to different kinds of teams based on your specialities and on what kind of mission needs to be completed. Though in a lot of cases, the teams stay together longer than that as the bonds you have are forged together well and you learn to work well together. As for special circumstances, there are only a couple of circumstances in which you can change teams." Iruka said looking at Ino.

"What are those circumstances?" Spoke up Tenten and Sakura at the same time, before glaring at each other.

"Well, first there's the chance that your teacher dies, in which case you'll either be assigned a new teacher or your team disbanded. Second, there's the chance that one or two of your teammates die, in which case you will be assigned to a new team. Or third, in the case of the rule of silver being broken."

"Rule of silver? What's that?" Ino asked curiously.

Iruka put his fingers to the bridge of his nose, rubbing it slightly, feeling the scar that was across it, which served as a reminder to him always about the rule of silver. He sighed lightly and looked back up to the class. "Honestly, you should ask your parents about the rule of silver." An audible sigh was heard around the class, making Iruka roll his eyes. "If you really want to know though, the rule of silver is one that all shinobi follow. By giving an item of silver to another shinobi, you are asking that person to be yours, to be bound to each other regardless of the circumstances. However, in order for the rule to be considered in effect, the second shinobi must give their gifter a piece of silver in return of equal or greater value than the piece they received. Once both shinobi own a piece of silver given by the other, they are bound to each other, either in terms of relationship or friendship, though usually it's the first that is seen." Iruka finished before looking up to see Menma fall back in his chair. "You alright Menma?"

Naruto fell back to the floor, in shock at what he just heard as his memory played over: "_Menma-kun, how much did you spend on this silver necklace?"_ He sat back up and scratched his head, trying to play off his worries, "Yes Iruka-sensei, I'm okay. Just lost my balance. By any chance, what age does the rule of silver usually start."

"Why do you ask? Have someone in mind to give some silver to?" Iruka asked, grinning and teasing the masked boy of 12.

Ino and Tenten both looked over to Menma and smiled and blushed. Both of them thinking, "_Awww, that's so sweet, he's going to give me a piece of silver to be his. He's such a gentleman."_

"No reason. I was just curious." Naruto said, smiling a fake smile, not that anyone could see it behind his mask.

"Well, usually the rule of silver doesn't apply until you're about 16 years old as it gives the shinobi time to find out who they truly are and what path they are going to follow." Iruka said. "Does anyone else have any more questions before I continue with the team assignments?" He watched as everyone shook his head. "Alright… then Team Nine will be assigned with Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee and Sakura Haruno. Team Eight will be assigned with Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame. Lastly, Team Seven will be assigned with Menma Shonjiki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Tenten. You will meet with your new teachers at the respective training grounds that they requested, which you can find in these envelopes with your marked team number. Report to those training grounds at 9 AM tomorrow morning. You all are dismissed."

Tenten jumped up as she heard that she was going to be on the same team as her masked friend. "_I'm going to prove to you I'm a worthy kunoichi of you Menma-kun. Just you wait and see. I'll be as legendary as one of the Sannin themselves." _She got up out of her chair and was walking over to her two teammates before Ino stepped in front of her.

"You know Menma-kun is going to be mine, right? So just stay out of the way." Ino threatened as she glared at the brown-haired girl.

"Please, now that I'm on the same team as him, we're going to be around each other a lot more. Maybe I'll even get to see what's behind that mask of his. I bet he's super cute too and you won't ever get to see him." Tenten shot back as she shoved her way past Ino.

"Right, because Menma-kun will ever want to spend time with a short haired girl like you when he could have someone with longer hair like me. All men love a woman with long hair. Plus you haven't even grown a chest yet! You look more like a boy than anything!" Ino yelled at her fan-girl rival, a chibi version of herself laughing evilly at the condescending comments, causing Tenten to stop in her tracks before turning around and began yelling back at her about her comments towards her.

Naruto put his head into his hands, closing his eyes. "_Are you serious? There's a rule of silver? What the hell did I do? I'm such an idiot. Yugao-chan is my sensei. Sure, she's attractive and beautiful, but still. She's older than me and probably already has been with someone. What if this breaks our friendship? Damn it you fox, why didn't you tell me about this rule of silver!"_

The demon fox laughed as he looked out from his cage, seeing his jailor's torment and enjoying it all too much. "**You never asked. Unless you ask, why should I give you the answer to anything? Besides, this should make things between you and any other girl interesting, considering the fact that you just offered to bind yourself to Yugao. She's not a bad kunoichi though, if you ask me."**

"_I wasn't asking you! Kami, what am I going to do?"_ Naruto thought to himself, hoping the fox wouldn't hear him.

"**Simple, you just see how it plays out. If I were you kid, I'd just act calm. No reason to worry over anything. I'm sure your beloved knows about the age restriction to the rule of silver, considering she's a woman. Most women, by the time they get to her age, know of the rule of silver from their parents or boyfriends."** The fox told him, grinning at him. This was the most enjoyment he'd gotten so far from Naruto and it made him giddy with fun.

"_Shut up Kendama-sama."_ Naruto said before getting out of his seat and cutting the connection off with, what he considered, his old friend. Naruto walked down and grabbed the envelope, whistling towards Sasuke and Tenten to come towards him, both doing so, though Tenten looked a little bruised and beaten after her brawl with Ino. "Get your act together Tenten-chan, otherwise we're going to fail as a team." He said calmly, opening the letter. "We're meeting at training ground three. Be prepared for anything tomorrow. I'll see you guys later, I have some stuff I need to do and think about."

Sasuke nodded before seeing his friend shunshin off in a swirl of leaves, before leaving himself in the same manner. Tenten, on the other hand, glared back up at Ino who was being supported by Choji and Shikamaru, "Told you I would beat you." She said before walking out the door, keeping her head high after the fight.

* * *

Yugao walked along the shops, looking for a store that sold silver pieces, before finding the shop at the end of the street, which was ironically the closest to the Hokage tower and not too far from ANBU headquarters. She was about to walk into the store when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "A bit early for some silver don't you think?" She turned her head to see that it was Itachi, her old team captain, now retired from ANBU.

"What makes you say that?" she asked curiously.

"Well, considering that you just not long ago were denied by Hayate, buying another man some silver would only hurt you. Don't you think?" he spoke calmly, removing his hand from her shoulder. It had been a few weeks since he'd seen Yugao and he noticed that she was always smiling now and had a silver necklace around her neck. "Who got you the silver anyway?" he asked, curiously.

"Early... maybe, but that doesn't mean I won't see if they won't accept me in return. Oh, this?" she smiled and reached for her amethyst moon amulet, showing it to Itachi, "Menma gave it to me about a year and a half ago. He said he spent quite abit on it, so now I'm wanting to return the favor, though I'll have to wait until he is older considering the age restriction." she said, before putting the amulet back between her breasts, enjoying the cold feel of the metal against her skin.

"I'd be cautious with that Yugao. Menma might not even know the rule of silver considering he's an orphan. I don't want to see you get hurt again, nor does Shisui." he said to her, keeping his ever so passive look.

"I know. I will be. How are things with the Uchiha clan since you took over?" she asked curiously.

Itachi shrugged slightly, "Its not too bad. There was a little riot and disapproval when I was named the next head of the clan after my father was taken to prison, but after everything was explained, most people seemed okay with it and just went on about their lives. Of course, as any new leadership would have, you have those few who don't like the new head and thus get a few challenges for leadership." he spoke, closing his eyes and putting his hands into his pants pockets. He still wore his ANBU outfit, not wanting to relinquish it to find a new outfit.

"Considering your repertoire of skills and experience, I doubt any challenger even stands a chance against you." Yugao spoke as she grinned slightly.

"You don't even know the half of it. More often than not, Itachi toys with them just to get some training in." spoke up Shisui as he jumped down from atop the stores roof. "Long time no see Yugao."

"You as well. What do you mean he toys with them?"

"Exactly that, he lets them think that they can beat him, when in reality, they were already beaten the moment the fight started." Shisui said grinning, patting his best friend on the back. "You should come watch one of the fights, he was actually challenged the other day and the fight is tomorrow at 9 AM. You're welcome to watch as it'll be at training ground fifty."

"Why'd you have to remind me Shisui?" Itachi said, opening his eyes, his three tomoe sharingan active, as it usually is. He purposely had it active all the time as it helped him increase his chakra reserves on a daily basis. Considering he wasn't able to go out and train all the time, this was the next best thing he could do.

"If I didn't, you'd only forfeit due to lack of showing." Shisui teased lightly. "Now get going to the tower before you miss the Council meeting a second time."

Itachi shrugged his shoulders and patted Yugao on the shoulder, "Just be careful Yugao. I'll see you around." he said before continuing on towards the Hokage tower, Shisui walking beside him as their conversation became drowned out through distance.

Yugao walked into the store and was looking around at the many different items before spotting some decent rings, frowning because she didn't see any she liked. She looked up to the store owner and smiled, "Excuse me, but do you make custom designed jewelry?" she asked politely.

"Sure do, but depending on what you request will depend on the time it takes to make it. What can I make for you?" the owner asked as she pulled out a pad and an ink brush.

"A silver ring with four chakra gems in them that can be used to store and withdraw chakra from them as the wearer sees fit." Yugao answered as she looked at the many necklaces on display.

"Chakra gems, huh? Last time I was asked that was with a moon amulet that was specially made. Boy wanted a purple chakra gem. Is there a specific color of chakra gem you wanted for the ring?" she asked, not realizing that the woman in front of her was the one with the moon amulet.

"Hrm..." Yugao thought for a second before nodding and smiling, "Orange and blue, two of each please, orange on the outside, blue on the inside." She reached up and absently rubbed on the chain of her necklace, finding amazement that Naruto would even know of chakra gems, let alone even ask for an amulet to be made with one.

"Alright sweetheart, it'll be a couple of years before this is made as pure silver takes time to make and chakra gems are just as hard to mine and cut. You did want pure silver, am I correct?" she asked, seeing her customer nod. "Alright, I'll send this request out to my runners and we'll contact you as soon as its done. Can I get your name dear?" she asked.

"Yugao Uzuki. Thank you so much." she said, bowing before leaving the shop. _"I wonder what you're up to Naruto-kun."_

* * *

Naruto stood in the backyard of his house, still surprised that he had a place to call home, even if it had been two years since he got the place. He grabbed a pronged kunai and threw it across the yard before teleporting to it, getting used to the jutsu his father left behind for him. He smiled at the thought of his father. He never had thought he had one before, but after his tenth birthday, he was glad he was proven wrong. He kept practicing the Hiraishin and kept teleporting from one spot in the backyard to another until he felt he had it mastered and perfected. He walked back inside and heard someone knock on the front door. He walked up and opened the door and saw Tenten, thankful he still had his mask on. "Hey Tenten, what brings you here?" he asked, standing in the doorway.

"I thought we could train a little and then maybe get some dinner." she said, smiling and blushing a little. _"Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes." _

Naruto smiled, "Sure. We can go to Ichiraku Ramen. I haven't seen Teuchi-sama in ages! Come on into the backyard, I was just about to start practicing." he answered, completely oblivious to Tenten's blush and forwardness at having a date with him. He lead the way to the backyard and grabbed his pronged kunai from the table on the porch and put it in his pack. He didn't want to give away all of his skills until he had to. "So what did you want to train in?"

"I was actually hoping we could spar against each other. No holding back like we had to in the Academy." Tenten said as she walked out into the middle of the yard.

Naruto shrugged as he sent out his chakra, sensing a jonin-level chakra signature atop his house. He already knew who it was without even turning around. _"Always looking over me, huh Yugao-sensei?"_ He walked out to stand in front of Tenten. "Alright Tenten, whenever you're ready. Begin." He grinned as he pulled out a kunai to block three kunai that she had thrown at him. _"You're quick with weapons, I forgot that." _He thought to himself as he ducked a kick from Tenten, only to backflip as she brought her foot down where he had been standing. "You're good Tenten, but you're slow and sloppy. You'll never beat me like that."

"Just cause you were named Rookie of the Year doesn't mean I can't beat you." Tenten said as she grabbed a few shuriken and kunai, throwing them at her teammate with deadly speed, only for them to be blocked or dodged. _"Damn him, he's fast. I just want to get one hit on him... just one."_ she thought to herself as she launched herself at him, throwing punch after punch and kick after kick, each blow getting blocked or dodged, until she was finally punched in the chest, making her lose her breath.

"I told you you were slow and sloppy. Now stand up and try again." he said as he helped Tenten up, only to be taken by surprise as she was helped up by him, before being pushed backwards, her hand holding a kunai to his throat.

"You really should pay attention to what Sasuke-kun says more. Don't underestimate your opponent and never let them off easy. Also, don't assume your opponent is down unless their no longer breathing or have a heartbeat." Tenten recited to him, remembering things that Sasuke and Iruka had taught or said to them during the Academy years.

"I could say the same to you Tenten." he spoke from behind her, bringing his sword to rest against the side of her neck, his clone poofing underneath her. "You shouldn't close your eyes when you throw your weapons, makes it too easy to perform jutsu. Anyway, I win." he said before he put away his sword. He looked up towards the roof of his house and saw his sensei sitting atop of it and knew she was probably smiling. "Now that training is over, you want to go get some Ichiraku Ramen?" he said smiling behind the mask. He couldn't wait to see Teuchi and Ayame again.

Tenten got up and nodded, "Sure!" _"I'll finally get to see his face! He has to take off his mask to eat!" _she thought to herself, while in her mind, she was grinning evilly and laughing at her cunning. It was practically her birthday today, a date and a chance to see his face, there wasn't anything that could make this day better. She walked with Menma out of the house and smiled as she walked with him to Ichiraku's.

"Menma-kun, mind if I have a moment with your friend here?" Yugao said as she showed up behind her bound friend and his teammate.

Naruto blushed and got a sweatdrop over his mask as he heard Yugao's voice, remembering that he had bound himself to her after giving her the silver necklace. _"This should be an interesting couple of years. I wonder if she even wants to be bound to me." _"Sure." Naruto said, walking onward. "I'll see you in a few minutes Tenten. I'll be at Ichiraku's." he said back towards Tenten. _"I think I got lucky on that one." _

The kyuubi grinned in his cage as he listened to his jailor's thoughts. _**"I'm going to enjoy seeing this woman making you squirm boy."**_ he thought to himself before taking his nap.

"So, your name is Tenten huh?" Yugao said, looking down at the girl before her and giving her an eyeful as well as wondering what kind of woman she would grow up into, not that it would matter as she would soon be bound to Naruto once the ring was made and he turned sixteen.

"Yeah and you're Yugao. What of it?" Tenten said remembering her as the one who showed Menma the necklace she had and not enjoying that this woman was stopping her from being with her date for the night.

"No point of it, just to say this. If you hurt him in any way, I'll be sure to do everything I can to make sure you regret it." Yugao said before shunshin-ing off in a swirl of smoke.

Tenten stood there shocked at the threat she was just given. _"Well that was weird. Oh well, Menma is going to be mine and noone elses." _she thought before she ran over to Ichiraku's and found her date having already ordered and eating, though only the bottom part of his mask was lifted and she couldn't see any distinguishable features about him. "Why don't you take the mask off Menma-kun? Wouldn't it be easier to eat?" she asked, hoping he would comply.

"Maybe, but I don't want anyone to see my face." he replied as he continued to eat his ramen, giving Tenten a small smile.

"_Well, he has a cute smile at least."_ "Why not? Afraid of what people may think about you?" she asked before having a bowl of miso ramen handed to her.

"As per Menma's request." Teuchi said, smiling at the boy. "Good to see you again Menma, you should come around more often."

Naruto nodded, "I'll try to Teuchi-sama." he responded before Teuchi walked away. "I'm not afraid of what people think of me, I just don't want to remove the mask. Simple as that." he said before continuing to eat his food.

Tenten sighed and frowned. She really wanted to see his face or at least something distinguishable about him. "Alright... I'll get you to take that mask off at some point." she said before grabbing some chopsticks and digging into the ramen, enjoying the date.

"_We'll see about that."_ Naruto thought to himself, enjoying the ramen before him.


	8. Chapter 8: The Newest Genin

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

This is my first fanfic and because it is my first, criticisms are welcome, feedback is appreciated, and flames (well, noone usually likes you anyway :P), no I'm kidding, please still feel free to post reviews.

Kaien Kurayami: If you ever want to borrow the rule of silver, just send me a PM with what story you're using it in and give me credit for it :)  
plums: No, I do not intend on keeping the rivalry between Ino and Tenten forever. Just for right now, they are competing for Naruto's attention. Sorry that you don't like it.

As previously stated, I do not like to write to canon, but some parts will be as per canon. Though that will be up to my discretion. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the reviews.

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****"Jutsu"  
****_(Jutsu name)_**

******Chapter 8: The Newest Genin**

Team Seven arrived at training ground three at roughly 8:30 AM wanting to show to their new sensei that they were tactful. Naruto was laying down on the grass, hands under his head as he watched the clouds roll by, his face hidden by his ever-present mask. Sasuke was off in the distance abit throwing shurikens and kunai at the wooden posts that stood in the center of field. Tenten was not too far from Naruto, laying on her side and staring at her crush.

"_Come on Tenten, get your act together and talk to him."_ She looked over to where Sasuke was at to make sure he wasn't going to be coming by anytime soon. "So Menma, when we were sparring, I noticed you don't really use the taijutsu stances taught to us in the Academy. What kind of taijutsu do you use?" she asked, wondering how he succeeded in beating everyone in the Academy. The only person he wasn't able to beat every now and then was their teammate Sasuke. She was clearly so far behind them that their experience, as young as they were, completely out-shadowed her. She stared at her teammate for a few minutes, not getting a response. "Hello? Earth to Menma? You there?" she said, waving a hand in front of him.

Naruto stared at the clouds, tuning out everything around him. _"What am I going to do about Yugao-chan? I offered her a piece of silver with a chakra gem and it was quite pricey too. What do I do if she offers me a piece of silver in return?"_

"**Calm down brat and stop worrying. If you are going to worry about what a simple girl is going to do about silver, how do you expect to fight people who are trying to kill you? Mind you, if you die, I'll bring you back from the Shinigami and kill you myself for being so stupid and getting me killed."** The fox berated him, tapping a claw lightly on the ground, causing ripples in the water of Naruto's mind.

"_That's easy for you to say Kendama-sama, you can't die anyway. You'd only come back a few years later when your chakra was restored." _Naruto spoke back, enjoying the more civil of conversations with his overly violent friend.

"**Regardless of the truth behind that statement, that doesn't mean I wish to die. You may be my container and I may offer you my power when you are hurt, but I only do it because you are useful to me. Also, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT CALLING ME THAT?!"** Kyuubi yelled at his container, growling lightly as he communicated to Naruto.

"_What else am I supposed to call you? I don't exactly know your name and just because I am useful to you doesn't mean anything. One of these days, I'll take that seal off so we can be real friends and not have to worry about us trying to kill each other."_

"**Ha! Like you stand a chance of beating me! Also, if you will stop calling me such an insulting name such as Kendama, then I will tell you my name." **The kyuubi spoke, noticing Naruto's anticipation to know his name. **"My name is Kurama. I will not ever repeat my name to you, so if you forget my name I will not speak it again. Also, it would be best to know that each one of us tailed beasts have a name. We do not give out our names to those who we don't think are worthy of it."**

"_Awww, you think I'm worthy of your name? I'm so happy!" _Naruto said happily, smiling behind his mask.

"**You're more worthy than my last two containers. At least you talk to me and don't keep me chained to a post." **Kurama spoke, remembering how Kushina and Mito both refused him a landscape which he could wander and instead chose to chain him down entirely.

"_Seems even you have a sensitive side Kurama-sama. Who would have thought?" _Naruto teased playfully.

"**Hmph. Ungrateful brat." **He said before cutting off communication with Naruto. _**"You truly are different Naruto. Makes me wonder how far you will come as a shinobi. Maybe you were the one that my father told me about, but we will have to wait and see, you are still young yet."**_

Naruto rolled his eyes, before hearing his teammate call to him. "Huh, what?" he said, looking over to Tenten. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you asked."

"I asked what kind of taijutsu style you use. It's not one I've seen before." She responded, a little irritated that he would ignore her.

"Oh, I use a style of my own. It's primarily a brawler and street fighter technique, mixed with some martial arts. Sure it may leave a few openings every now and then, but its good as an overall technique and powerful too." He responded before sitting up, realizing that is was going on 9: 30 AM. _"Where's this new teacher of ours?"_

"Think you could teach me that style?" she asked with hope, wanting to spend more time with him.

"I could, but it would be pointless. You already have a style of your own, plus taijutsu isn't your strongest point. You seem more of a long ranged fighter than short ranged." he answered back.

"I would still like to learn." She said sitting up and leaning forward.

Naruto rolled his eyes and looked at his teammate. "We'll have to see what our new sensei teaches us before I give you an answer."

"Awww… fine." She said before tilting her head back to look at the clouds.

* * *

A silver-haired man with a mask across the lower half of his face was sitting in one of the benches of one of the rooftop balconies, reading a book. He looked up to see one of his old friends come up, smoking a cigarette. "Hey there Kakashi, shouldn't you be at the training grounds with your team to see if they pass or fail?"

Kakashi closed his book and sighed, closing his only visible eye, as his other eye was hidden by his hitai-ate. "Why bother, Asuma? Most genin nowadays don't understand the value of camaraderie or that you need to stick together as a team, nor understand the value of placing oneself in a situation so your allies can continue. I would be willing to bet this team fails just like my last four hopeful teams did." He said, as he watched his friend sit down beside him.

"That is exactly why you need to teach the newest genin what you know as well as your values. You're not going to be around forever Kakashi. If we don't teach our students the values we hold dear and about the Will of Fire, this village will fall faster than my cigarette ash does. Besides, you never know, maybe one of your students will become Hokage or more." Asuma responded in kind, tapping on his cigarette to watch the ash fly away in the wind.

"Although you speak the truth, there is no point in teaching those who do not value their teammates." He said, putting his book away.

"How do you know they don't unless you test them?" the cigarette smoker asked.

"I guess you have a point. However, don't be surprised if they are sent back to the Academy." He said, before shunshin-ing away to training ground three.

* * *

Itachi stood in the middle of training ground fifty along with his opponent, Inabi Uchiha. "Inabi Uchiha, I'll give you one chance to withdraw. This fight is going to be pointless and futile and will only result in your failure." Itachi said, looking at Inabi.

"Never! Your father was wrongfully accused of planning a coup d'etat and is now in the Blood Prison for it! This is your fault! You don't deserve to hold the title of Clan head." Inabi exclaimed back, activating his three tomoe sharingan and grabbing a kunai from his pouch.

"If you choose to fight me and lose, no one else in your family may challenge me. Deal?" Itachi said, activating his own three tomoe sharingan, watching Inabi closely.

"Fine, but that won't be necessary as I will defeat you." Inabi said, unaware that Itachi was once an ANBU captain and is much more capable with his sharingan than he is.

Itachi sighed and shook his head. "Then let us begin." Itachi said as he dodged a few kunai to jump into the air, analyzing everything that Inabi was doing, throwing shuriken in quick succession towards Inabi to make him take up a defensive posture as he landed on the ground.

Shisui and Yugao watched on in wonder as the two Uchiha members fight it out, each one throwing kunai, shuriken or fire jutsu at one another, though it was clear to the both of them that Itachi was winning the fight. "So, Menma gave you a silver necklace huh? Are you going to return the gesture or let him down gently?" Shisui asked quietly, watching his best friend deflect more kunai and shuriken.

"Honestly? I think I'll return the gesture. I've spent a lot of time around Menma as he's grown and he's turning out to be a fine shinobi, one who has the ability to change the world. He's also the one who stopped me from leaving the village a year ago when Hayate and me broke up." Yugao spoke, reaching a hand up to rub the chain absent-mindedly.

"I heard about you two breaking up. What happened? You two seemed so into each other." Shisui said, looking at her a brief moment before looking away.

"I offered him a silver ring and he declined the offer, saying he didn't think it was the right time. I'm not upset anymore. That was a year ago and I've moved on." She said, smiling at her friend.

"Just don't go out and get yourself hurt again. If you do choose to be with Menma though, give him some time to age. He is only a few years younger than yourself and still naïve." Shisui said as he watched as Itachi landed a few blows onto Inabi, making him reel back from being hit so hard.

"I know and I will. Besides, I can't give him a piece of silver until he's 16. Well, I could, but the rule wouldn't apply until then." Yugao responded as she watched on. "Why's Itachi taking his time in defeating Inabi?" she asked curiously.

"He's getting some extra training in. Since becoming the Clan head, he hasn't had a lot of time to train, what with the semi-constant Council meetings, having to deal with the police force and making time for his younger brother, Sasuke. So these minor challenges give him an excuse to train, so he takes advantage of it." Shisui said, watching on as Inabi took a few more hits from Itachi.

"I see. So how long ago was this fight already won?" she asked curiously.

"The moment he threw his shuriken at Inabi. Granted, Inabi has a small chance if Itachi isn't careful, but he's so analytical that I doubt that would happen."

Itachi continued to dodge and weave from the shadow shuriken that Inabi had made, enjoying being able to put his training to some minor work. Inabi was well beneath his skill, at best a B-rank shinobi, while Itachi, himself, was at least an A-rank, if not S-rank shinobi. He watched as Inabi let loose another jutsu, which he dodged with ease. _"This is starting to get boring."_ He thought to himself before he stopped moving and put his hair out of his eyes, looking straight at Inabi. _"__**Tsukuyomi."**_ Suddenly, Inabi was chained against a rock while Itachi stood before him with a sword. "You can either claim defeat or be put into the hospital. Your choice." Itachi said to Inabi.

"You think a simple genjutsu can hold me? Release!" he yelled out as he sent a burst of chakra through his body, but nothing happening. Inabi frowned and sent another burst of chakra through his body, hoping to dispel the genjutsu he's in.

"It won't work. You're in my Tsukuyomi. I control time and space with this genjutsu. A second is a day, an hour is a month, a year is a decade. Whatever time span I want it to be, is. So once again, submit or be hospitalized." Itachi stated.

Shisui and Yugao watched as the two fighters stopped moving, Yugao speaking up. "Whats going on? Why'd they stop moving?"

"Itachi's ultimate genjutsu, Tsukuyomi. Inabi is trapped in it and the only way out is for Itachi to end it himself." Shisui stated, rather coldly.

Inabi looked at Itachi, "I'll never submit, I'll figure out a way to get out of this and beat you!" he growled out towards Itachi.

"Very well." Itachi said as he stabbed Inabi in the side with his sword, pulling it out, revealing no blood loss, only the very real pain of the stab being felt by Inabi. "Once you submit, I'll stop." Spoke a second and third Itachi, as all three stabbed him, continuing the process of more Itachi's being created and stabbing Inabi.

"Ok! I submit! You win!" Inabi said, having felt like he'd been stabbed over a million times over what seemed like three days.

Itachi released his genjutsu and knelt onto a knee as he closed his eyes, not seeing that Inabi had completely collapsed from pain and was fading in and out of consciousness. "I'd suggest you take him to the hospital immediately." Itachi said, hearing people scramble towards Inabi and walking away.

"Told you Itachi would win." Shisui said as he walked over and helped his friend up. "Try not to use your sharingan for a little bit. You'll only increase the blindness further if you do." He said, knowing the after-effects of using the sharingan all too well.

"I'll see you around Itachi-san, Shisui-san. I have to get to work." Yugao said as she walked away from the field.

"See you around Yugao." Itachi and Shisui spoke at the same time, before they both disappeared in a shunshin.

* * *

Team Seven was leaning against the wooden posts, talking to each other about why their sensei was so late. "Oh come on, whats he possibly doing that's going to make him an hour and a half late?" Tenten asked.

"Maybe he forgot about us." Sasuke spoke up, breaking off a piece of grass and twirling it in his fingers.

"Forgot? Oh no, I didn't forget. I was just testing your patience. There will be many missions you will go on, if you pass, that will require patience." Kakashi said as watched his students stand up from the ground after the scare he gave them. "Now then, I am going to conduct a simple test, one which will determine if you pass or fail." He pulled two bells out of his pocket and tied them to a belt loop on the side of his pants. "There are two bells. You must retrieve both of them before sundown or you all fail. The only downfall, the one who does not get a bell goes back to the Academy."

The three genin looked at each other and sweatdropped before Naruto spoke up. "If that's the case, I'll go back to the Academy. I don't mind spending two more years at the Academy, who knows, I might even make some more friends." He said, looking at both Sasuke and Tenten.

"You'd really do that Menma? Why?" Sasuke asked, surprised at his rival's bold statement, which also caught Kakashi by surprise.

"Well, if only two of us could pass, and there are three of us, whats the point in everyone putting in all their effort only for one to fail anyway? I'd rather just go ahead and go back than to see one of you guys get sent back merely because you couldn't get a bell." Naruto said calmly.

"_Did he see through the test? Noone has ever given up this quick to make sure his comrades could go on, just who is this masked Menma?"_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"You do realize that if you go back baka, I'll follow suit. I'd rather be on your team than be stuck with someone who I don't know or trust." Sasuke said, patting his friend on the back.

"I'll go too." Tenten spoke up, not wanting to be part of a team that didn't have Menma on it.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, before giving an ever absent eye smile, one that would become quite common with his newest team. "You all pass." He said calmly, making the three genin look at him in shock.

"How? We didn't do anything." Naruto spoke, looking at his newest teacher.

"Simple. The bell test is not a who will pass or who will fail, but a whole team pass or fail. You see, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash. However, those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. Had you proceeded to fight me to obtain the two bells, and in some great stroke of luck, did obtain both of them, you all still would have failed." Kakashi said as he looked at his students. "Now then, because you all have already passed, I want to see how good you guys do working together. I still want you to do your best to retrieve these two bells. Come at me with the intent to kill, that's the only way you can get these bells." He said before backflipping away and pulling out his book to read it.

Naruto and Sasuke raised an eyebrow both, before grinning as Naruto made the tiger seal. **"**_**Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**__ (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu) _Suddenly, there were at least 200 clones on the training field, which made Kakashi blink in surprise.

"_Guess no reading for me. This Menma kid is serious… almost reminds me of, well, me."_ He put his book away and began a taijutsu battle with each of the clones, one hit causing each of them to dispel. While he was busy with the clones, he didn't notice as Tenten jumped into the air and began throwing kunai, senbon, and shuriken at him. He felt the first of the senbon pierce him before he jumped out of the way, being pegged by two more senbon and getting kicked and punched by a couple of clones. _"I see, so they are serious, and abit more aggressive than I thought. However, that's two, where's the third?"_ He said, before seeing a fireball come toward him, the fireball eliminating clone after clone in its path. He jumped away towards the river, making a few hand seals. _**"Suiton: Suijinheki"**_ _(Water Style: Water Wall)_ Kakashi stood firm as the water around him rose up to make the fireball disappear, seeing the three genin land in front of him. "Is that all you guys can do? You'll have to be abit more serious than that if you want the bells." Kakashi said as he tapped his side, not feeling the bells there. _"When did they…" _He thought back for a second, coming to the realization that one of the punches was not a punch, but was a grab by the masked boy, who succeeded in taking both bells before disappearing from the fireballs path.

Naruto held up the two bells and grinned from behind his mask, "Wasn't that hard sensei. Now, whats next on your schedule?" He asked tossing a bell to Sasuke and the other to Tenten, putting an arm around them both.

"_Impressive. First day together and they're working well as a team, particularly Sasuke and Menma. I can see this team going far." _"Now we get to do introductions. By that, I mean we tell each other our names, likes, dislikes, dreams, and hobbies." Kakashi said, waving his team to join him at the water's edge. He pointed towards the girl. "You get to introduce yourself first."

Tenten nodded and looked at her teammates and teacher, "My name is Tenten, I like Menma-kun, I dislike those who think I'm not good enough to be a kunoichi. My dream is to become as legendary as Lady Tsunade of the Sannin and my hobbies are throwing weapons."

Naruto spoke up next, "My name is Menma Shonjiki. I like training til I can't train anymore and I like learning new things, I dislike those who beat other people up just for fun. My dream is to become a Hokage, one far greater than even the First or the Fourth, and my hobbies are training and eating ramen."

Sasuke spoke up next, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like training and learning new jutsu, I dislike those who are not an Uchiha or have not gained my respect. My dream, can't really say I have one. My hobbies are training."

Kakashi gave an eye smile to his three genin, "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no real desire to tell you my likes or dislike. My dreams for the future, hmm. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." He said, making his students get little tick marks on foreheads.

"That's it Kakashi-sensei? That's all you're going to tell us is your name?" Tenten spoke up, saying the same thing she thought Naruto and Sasuke were thinking.

"Yes. I don't see the need of you guys understanding everything about me. If you knew that stuff about me, I wouldn't be able to surprise you with anything." Kakashi replied simply to his students. "Now if you excuse me, I must report to the Hokage. Meet me at the Hokage Tower in three days at 10 AM. We'll get our first mission then." He said before shunshin-ing off.

"Well, that was fun. I'll see you guys around. I have some stuff I need to do." Naruto said.

"You always leave so suddenly after we're dismissed Menma. What are you doing that needs so much attention?" Sasuke asked of his teammate, noticing Tenten's sad look, but ignoring it.

"Research and studies." Naruto said calmly before shunshin-ing in a swirl of leaves, leaving behind his two teammates.

* * *

Hiruzen sat at his desk, seeing the four jonin in front of him. "Status report of your students?" he said looking at the twelve papers in front of him with a fail or pass stamp prepared for any of them.

A woman with smoke-colored hair spoke first, "Team Eight has passed their test and are awaiting further missions."

Asuma spoke up next, "Team Ten has passed their test, though just barely."

A man wearing a green jumpsuit spoke up next, quite enthusiastically, "Team Nine and their flames of youth has passed ever so greatly!" The three other jonin sighed and bowed and shook their heads in something between pity and embarrassment of him.

Hiruzen looked at the last three papers to be stamped and signed: Menma Shonjiki, Tenten, and Sasuke Uchiha. "I'm going to take a guess that your team failed, eh Kakashi? This will be the fourth team you fail, are you trying to get me to take you off the list of applicable jonin teachers?"

Kakashi gave an eye smile, "On the contrary, Hokage-sama, Team Seven has passed my expectations quite well." He watched on as his fellow jonin fell back in shock that he would pass a team after failing everyone else. "I look forward to seeing how they work together. Although, if I can make a small request." He asked, not sure how the Hokage would take his request.

"What is your request?" Hiruzen asked.

"I request that my team be started on C-rank missions instead of D-rank. Their teamwork is quite great considering their short time together. I would like to see them excel further." Kakashi said, running a hand through his silver hair.

The shinobi in the green jumpsuit spoke up, "You just want to beat me in mission ranks don't you Kakashi? I request the same thing!" he exclaimed to the Hokage loudly.

Hiruzen looked up at the two. "Kakashi, I will grant your request to start with C-rank missions, however, the missions will stay within the Land of Fire until they have gained more experience. Might Guy, your request is denied. Considering the report you gave me earlier, your team needs to work on their teamwork." He looked up to see Guy bow his head in defeat. "You are dismissed."

"You beat me again Kakashi. Our rivalry will continue on!" Guy exclaimed before running out the door.

Asuma spoke up, "Pass huh? They must be some team."

"They are quite unique." Kakashi said, before walking out the door and reading his book once more.


	9. Chapter 9: The First Kill

I do not own anything from Naruto, that is all Masashi Kishimoto.

I enjoy the reviews as they inspire to write more to this story, thats not to say I won't continue to write regardless, but I do enjoy reading your reviews. :)  
Tenma Sosei: Yes, this story will be strictly NarutoxYugao. However, like real life, he's going to have a couple gf's before ultimately getting with Yugao.  
Soluke: In a way, Sasuke is not actually beating Naruto as he is holding back ALOT. Even in this chapter you might notice him holding back, however, at the same time, even with Naruto holding back, Sasuke has managed to beat him a few times.

As previously stated, I do not like to write to canon, but some parts will be as per canon. Though that will be up to my discretion.

"Normal conversations"  
"_Thoughts"  
_"**Kyuubi talking"  
**_"_**_Kyuubi thoughts"_****  
****_"Jutsu"_  
**_(Jutsu name)_

**Chapter 9: The First Kill**

Menma, Sasuke, Tenten, and their sensei Kakashi stood in front of the Third Hokage, as requested by their sensei last night during training. "What is our first mission Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, looking at his students, hoping that he wasn't making a bad decision to have them start out at C-rank missions.

Hiruzen handed an envelope to Kakashi, "There are reports of rogue ninja bandits, collectively from all nations gathering in Uzushiogakure. Our scouts say that they are planning to overthrow the our Daimyo and continue on if they succeed. Your mission is to eliminate all of these rogue ninjas. This is a C-rank based off the reports, but could be escalated to B or A-rank depending on if the report is completely accurate or not." Hiruzen opened a drawer of his desk and handed all of them four Bingo Books, each having their own hidden village symbol on them. "Since there are shinobi from other villages, I want you to look through the bingo book and match to bodies. This will not affect the mission pay, but will only be an added bonus to what you can make. Also, the genin are to return the books after the mission is complete."

Kakashi picked up the books and flipped through the pages, seemed there were many more missing nin than he thought there were. "Shouldn't this be a job handled by the ANBU? Is this not their area of expertise?"

**"Kid, this is your only chance to get to go to Uzushiogakure, your birth place, and possibly a place where you can learn more about fuinjutsu... If I were you, I wouldn't let this chance escape your grasp."** Kurama said, with a low guttural growl.

"Kakashi-sensei, we can do this. Sure it will be our first mission, but we are more than capable of completing it, plus it would be good to see the famed ruins of Uzushiogakure." Naruto said from behind his mask, hoping to convince his teacher to not hand the mission over to the ANBU.

"Come on Kakashi-sensei, have a little faith in us. Besides, isn't that why you requested us to start at C-ranks because we could handle it?" Sasuke said, really wanting to test his sharingan. At the current moments, he was only able to use his sharingan during training with Naruto and that was just to keep up with his speed.

Kakashi sighed and put the books into his pouch. "When do we leave?" he asked the Hokage.

"You leave in two hours. Do any of you know fuinjutsu?" Hiruzen asked, knowing that Kakashi knew but wasn't sure about the students. He looked over and noticed that Naruto had his hand raised. "I'd suggest you bring more sealing scrolls than usual then." He grabbed a couple pieces of paper and wrote on them before handing them over to Kakashi and Naruto. "Take those to the scroll shop and have the owner fill out that request, he can be reimbursed after the mission. You are dismissed." he said, waving his hand. _"Damn all this paperwork! Why did you have to die Minato-san?"_ he sighed after watching Team Seven leave and put his head into his hands. He heard a knock on the door and lifted his head, "Enter."

* * *

Naruto stood at the gates, gazing at the clouds. "_No wonder you do this Shikamaru-san, its quite relaxing."_ There was still roughly a half hour to kill before they had to travel to Uzushiogakure, even though that was another two day travel. "_So Kurama, what should I expect from the ruins of Uzushiogakre?" _he asked his newest friend.

"**Honestly, I am not sure. I have not seen it since my first jailor left. That was a long time ago, long before the place was destroyed."** The demon fox states, remembering the grandeur buildings and most importantly, the large impenetrable vault that only the Uzumaki clan could get into. "**However, I expect it to be quite exciting to see such a place of grandeur in ruins." **He laughed evilly after finishing the last statement.

Naruto rolled his eyes, wondering what he should expect. "_What is it with you, death, destruction, and violence? You know that can't be healthy for you, right? Besides, what can I learn from Uzushiogakure? I've studied plenty of fuinjutsu scrolls, even ones that are restricted and forbidden, and none of them have said anything about being able to manipulate an Eight Trigram Seal, let alone any seal__**, **__into a new form." _ He asked curiously, even now, his clones were reading books and scrolls on multiple subjects and he had recently found a scroll in his father's room that told him of a vault that only a member of the Namikaze or Uzumaki clan could open, though how it would not explain.

**FLASHBACK**

Naruto was walking through the house and stopped in front of the one bedroom he had never opened: his parents' bedroom. He took his mask off and attached it to his hip, reaching out to touch the sliding door, wondering what kind of people his parents were like. Sure, he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, so that meant his father was a great and noble man, but what about his mother? He knew nothing about her and he couldn't find anything about her either. He figured the last place that he might find something about her, would be his parents' room. He finally summoned the courage to open the door and on the dresser being held in a pronged scroll holder, lay a scroll. A very dusty, and seemingly, very old scroll. He looked around the room, thinking that it might be a trap, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, as he walked up and grabbed the scroll. He broke the seal on the top and bottom of the scroll and opened it:

_To whomever gets the pleasure of reading this,_

_If you are reading this, it means myself and my wife are dead. However, it also means you are a family member, a Namikaze or an Uzumaki and as such, I extend my deepest and fondest greetings to you. I am surprised you have come this far, only to seek out my bedroom, probably hoping to find some rare treasure no doubt. However, you will find no treasure here unless you look in the vault. The vault is two stories below your feet and guarded by multiple layers of defense and other random ways. I will also tell you that the vault itself is defended as well, but I will not tell you how to get into it either. Only those who are worthy of such treasures must prove their knowledge and cunning to me. The entrance to the vault is behind the dresser. I wish you luck to enter my vault, the only person to have ever succeeded is my wife._

_Good luck!_

Naruto put the scroll down and pushed the dresser aside and noticed there was a lined seal, one he noticed was similar to a blood sealing, the same kind on the front of the house. He bit his thumb and rubbed his blood over the line and watched as the sealing absorbed his blood before shining a bright light and opening a small passage before him. Remembering the words his father used, "_Guarded by multiple layers of defense and other random ways." _ Naruto grinned and put his hands together, _**"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"** (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)_ He turned to look at his ten clones, "Do your best to get to the vault without getting yourselves killed or deactivating any traps. Should one of you make it, put a Hiraishin seal on the vault door."

"Hai!" were the clones responses before they walked into the passageway of the vault.

**END FLASHBACK**

His clones still hadn't made it down the full two stories without disabling the traps, which he has learned how to recreate through the failings of his clones.

"**Nothing is wrong with me, you condescending brat! I am Kurama, Nine Tailed Demon Fox Spirit! Of course I'm going to relish in destruction, hate, and death! I hate all you humans, with the exception of one, but he was more of a god than a human. However, that's a story for a later time. Now, as for what you can learn, there's a lot you can learn. If my memory serves well, there is a small building that is impervious to damage and time itself that houses every scroll the Uzumaki clan ever made on fuinjutsu and other jutsus. Rumor has it, that the Senju clan also have scrolls in there because of the safety the Uzumaki clan offered. Now hurry up and get there so I can get out of this damned cage!"** Kurama growled out before cutting off communication, feeling abit happy that someone besides his father cares about his anger management, only that mood didn't last long. "_**Stupid child, to think your words will affect me like they do your friends." **_

Naruto opened his eyes and saw his other two teammates arriving, the dark haired boy speaking up first, "Menma! Did you remember to stop by the scroll shop Hokage-sama told you to go to?"

"Yep!" the masked boy replied, patting the large scroll he was carrying on his back, much like the way the First Hokage was seen carrying in the history books.

"Why do you need that large of a scroll?" Tenten asked curiously. She didn't know much about fuinjutsu, but even she knew that one wouldn't need that large of a scroll for anything unless you had a really large amount of items being sealed away.

"A few reasons really, but you'll see why when we get closer to Uzushiogakure." Naruto said, grinning at his teammates from behind his mask. "Now we are just waiting on..."

"Me? I was reading over the details of this mission. A wise shinobi never leaves before knowing everything about their mission." Kakashi said, lecturing his three genin. "Alright, lets go. It's going to take us two days to get to Uzushiogakure. We'll talk tactics when we set up camp for the night. So lets go." he finished as he began sprinting through the forests, taking lead in case they were ambushed on the way there.

* * *

******Somewhere in ?**

Pein stood up from his chair and walked over to the edge of the large open window in the tower he stood in. Today was the day his best friend was killed by the legendary Hanzo of the Salamander during their invasion. "I think its time we start moving forward with our plans of bringing peace to the world." he said out loud towards his advisor and second in command of the mercenary group Akatsuki.

"Do you really think we are ready for such a feat? We are only ten strong. Akatsuki isn't what it used to be anymore. Not since..." she hesitated and sighed, remembering the same day that Pein was remembering, "Not since that day. I am not sure how ready everyone is to face such opponents."

"Konan, we are strong enough. We may not have the numbers anymore, but we make up for it with skill and experience. Our ranks consist of eight other S-rank shinobi, each with more than 10 years of battle experience and most with their own genius intellect. It will take some time to find the jinchurikiis of the tailed beasts, and even longer to find them in order. We have attained enough money through minor missions and bounties to sustain Akatsuki for a couple of decades. That alone will be more than enough time to achieve our goal." Pein said, rubbing his ring so that he could telepathically communicate with his entire organization. _"Everyone, your attention. We are going to move on to phase two of our plans, the collection of the jinchurikii. Since we need to collect them in order from the Ichibi to the Kyuubi, I will be assigning you each a beast to look for. Where you look is up to you and finding them will be hard as the beasts will hide themselves in their hosts. So, Deidara and Sasori, you will search for and obtain the Ichibi _(One-Tail)_ and Gobi _(Five Tails)._ Kakazu and Hidan, you will search for and obtain the Nibi _(Two Tails)_, Rokubi _(Six Tails)_, and Hachibi _(Eight Tails)_. Tobi and Zetsu, you will search for and obtain the Sanbi _(Three Tails)_ and Nanabi _(Seven Tails)_. Finally, Kisame and Danzo, you will search for and obtain the Yonbi _(Four Tails)_ and Kyuubi _(Nine Tails)_. I do not care in what order you find them, just find them and bring them back here, alive. Should you kill them while attempting to bring them in, I will kill you. Should you be unable to bring the jinchurikii in without killing them, you are to let me know immediately. I expect weekly updates on your searches. Do I make myself clear?"_

He and Konan heard a resounding, _"Yes, Pein-sama."_ in their minds before Pein removed his chakra from the ring, thus terminating all communication telepathically with his subordinates. "Now we sit and wait until the jinchurikiis are found and defeated."

* * *

The team stood before the dock of Uzushiogakure, a mass of whirlpools raging on before them.

"How do we get across Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked curiously, not being able to see any way through, unless they walked between the areas of the whirlpools themselves.

"We walk. There are areas between the whirlpools that are calm that we can easily walk by. Surely you guys aren't going to complain about a mere kilometer walk." he said, looking at his students, knowing that they were heading into their first real battle that was going to result in their first kills.

"Sounds good to me." Sasuke said before jumping out of the boat and heading towards the first calm area between the nearest whirlpools.

Naruto jumped down himself and looked up at his last two comrades before watching them jump down as well, noticing Kakashi taking lead. "Lets go Tenten." he said, smiling at her from behind his mask.

"Sure." She said, following her crush and teammate, "You know, to preserve the mask, you should take it off during the fights when we get to land." she commented, once again baiting him to remove the mask that hid his face. _"I'm going to see whats under that mask one way or the other."_

"Although you make a good point, it is quite pointless as well. You see, this is no ordinary mask. This mask is covered in chakra and protected by chakra, my chakra. In order for my mask to take any sort of damage, I would have to use a lot of chakra." he said, tapping his mask lightly. "Besides, I like my mask." he grinned, giving Tenten a thumbs up before following in the steps of his sensei and Uchiha counterpart.

Ten minutes later, the team stood on the shore of Uzushiogakure, the treeline hiding the ruins of the village from sight. They all got in formation and took to the trees, jumping from branch to branch until they reached a clearing of what seemed like a bandit scout group. He signaled to Naruto to take the leftmost man, Sasuke the rightmost, and Tenten to come with him with the middle two.

"You know, I don't see why we don't just attack the Daimyo now. We have the manpower and firepower. We could easily overrun his palace before he could get reinforcements from Konohagakure." one bandit said from around the fire pit, checking his ninja tools.

"Calm down Okobo. We'll attack him soon enough, probably tomorrow or something. Rechi is smoothing out some rough points before we go." he said, looking up at his teammate, a missing nin from Sunagakure. He looked up just in time to see a few kunai come from the trees, killing all but him as he blocked the kunai that came for him. "So, we have a little raiding party huh? This should be fun.**_"_****__****Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"**_ (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu) _He shot the fireball towards where the kunai came from and incinerated the area, grinning as he saw two objects fall off from his area of flames. He started walking up to the objects, "Lets see what fancy tools I can take off your.." he growled when he noticed it was just a couple of logs, turning around to see a tall silver haired ninja jump at him and pin him to the ground, hand covering his mouth and nose, forcing him to be unable to breath. He tried pushing the man off him, but his arms and legs were pinned down by a masked child and black haired child. He tried looking for anyone else, but his eyes became blurry before succumbing to death from the lack of oxygen.

"There are about 50 bandits two kilometers north of here." Naruto said casually, his sensory skills having improved so much, that he could get an idea of everything around him with every step he took and have a visual image of it inside his mind. He could even fight with his eyes closed if he chose to.

"Impressive, Menma. How did you know that?" Kakashi asked, looking at his student.

"I have read a lot of sensory skill books and have trained to be a sensory ninja among other things." he said, shrugging off the compliment, but giving a smile from underneath his mask.

"Showoff." Sasuke said, nudging his friend a little. "So the score is 1-1. Whoever wins, buys the other a new set of kunai upon mission completion." he offered his hand out to Naruto and grinned, activating his two tomoe sharingan.

"Try to keep up." Naruto said, grinning as he shook his friends hand. "Just don't cry when you lose."

"I don't intend to."

"Come on you two, must everything be a competition?" Tenten asked, placing her hands on her hips. She was starting to get upset that Sasuke was always pushing Menma into a friendly challenge. "Killing someone shouldn't be a challenge. We should respect those who die." she finished, glaring at the two of her teammates.

"She's right. You should respect those who die. Every life tells a story and when you kill someone, you are killing someone's loved one. So, if you do intend to kill someone, do it when you are calm and level headed. If you kill someone out of hate, you'll regret it later on down the road. Thats not a shinobi rule, thats one of my rules." Kakashi said, noticing the two tomoe sharingan in Sasuke's eyes. _"To have a two tomoe at such a young age... this can't be good. I'll have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."_

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, suddenly feeling bad about making such a game about killing people. They weren't really sure what to say, so they nodded their heads, "Alright, lets finish the mission and head home. Were any of these part of the bingo book?" Naruto asked, looking at the four bodies.

"Only this one." Tenten said pointing at the man who was suffocated.

"Alright, cross out his name. Menma, seal him in one of your scrolls." Kakashi said as he took out his Bingo Book from Kumogakure and made an X over the shinobi's picture as the sealing was completed.

"Done Kakashi-sensei. Lets finish the rest." Naruto said, suddenly standing still as he heard a ghostly whisper through the trees.

"_Uzumaki... come to the temple. There is much we need to show you about your clan. Wipe your blood across the seal on the door and enter."_

"Menma? Menma? Hello... Konoha to Menma?" Sasuke said, waving his hands in front of his teammate.

"Huh? What? What'd I miss?" Naruto said, snapping out from the sudden disbelief of hearing voices. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what?" replied the black haired girl.

"Nothing.. nevermind. Forget about it." Naruto said, "We going?" He put the scroll with the sealed corpse away and followed after his team as they all jumped into the trees and headed north towards the bandit camp. The four continued to travel until they came to a destroyed wall at the exit of the tree line. Behind the wall laid the ruins of Uzushiogakure, pillars of intricate markings lay on the ground, broken and crumbling. Houses and buildings lay destroyed, the same markings on them as the pillars had. Everywhere around was the destruction of the Uzumaki clans home and the masters of fuinjutsu. In the distance however, stood a singular concrete building with the Uzumaki swirl at the top with the name of the building underneath "Uzumaki Temple", intricate markings covered the walls of the building, while surrounding the building was a large group of bandits.

"Come on, lets get going. It seems everyone is trying to get into that building. We need to stop them so we can rescue whoever is inside." Kakashi said, looking at his students, noticing Naruto wasn't moving again.

"_This is what is left of our home. Stop them. Show them your power. Enter the temple and learn of your heritage."_

"Menma, you sure you're ok? You've been acting strange since we got here." Kakashi said, eyeing the masked child.

"I'm sure. Lets go." Naruto replied following after his silver haired teacher.

As they landed behind the group of people, Tenten jumped into the air and unleashed a shower of senbon, kunai and shuriken, each piece of metal finding seperate targets. Kakashi ran forward and began taijutsu fights with multiple enemies while Naruto and Sasuke were each fighting with a kunai in hand. As Tenten was coming back to the ground, she felt something hot against her leg, looking down to see a flaming whip encircle it and slam her into the ground. She laid on the ground, before sitting up to see the whip go away and the same ninja do a few more handseals,**__****"Doton: Chikyu domu" **_(Earth Style: Earth Dome)_

Suddenly, she was trapped in a dome of earth, unable to escape as she had no real natural affinity to any elements, but only excelled in weapon usage. _"Come on, I gotta find out a way out of this or else Menma-kun will think I'm weak."_

Naruto looked to his side and watched as Tenten was trapped in an earth dome, before looking back over towards Sasuke and Kakashi, both of them holding their own and killing bandits as they were able to, while dodging and performing jutsus of their own, though Sasuke looking a little worse for wear. In front of Naruto stood ten bandits, each with a grin on their face. "Come on boy, give up, we'll go easy on you then." spoke a dark skinned rogue, his hitaite showing that he was from Kumogakure.

"As you wish." Naruto said as he drew his sword and put his fingers together,_**"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"**__ (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu) _He created ten clones, one for each of his opponents, before taking off to the man who trapped Tenten. As he arrived to the dome, he watched Tenten burst the the back of the dome away from the man. He grinned and jumped on top of the dome, looking at the man in front of him, pointing his sword at him. "I'm your opponent now."

"Excellent! I could use a good fight, but first I am Rechi and you are?" Rechi said, looking at the child in front of him.

"I am Menma Shonjiki of Konohagakure and this is where you die. I noticed your picture in the bingo book of Iwagakure, you're worth a hefty bounty." Naruto said grinning as he threw a kunai at him, knowing full well he was going to dodge it with ease.

"So I'm told, but I doubt you of all people will be able to defeat me." Rechi commented moving his body ever so slightly to dodge the thrown kunai as he slammed his hands onto the ground, _**"Doton: Chikyu domusupaiku" **(Earth Style: Earth Dome Spikes)_ He grinned as spikes suddenly shot out of the earth dome, one of them inadvertently piercing someone behind the dome as he heard a girl scream in pain, though she was not his intended target.

Naruto jumped a few seconds after Rechi's hands hit the ground and he teleported behind him, stabbing him in the stomach. "You know, for being a B-rank shinobi, you fall way too easily."

"Where did you.. How did you get behind me so fast?" Rechi said, coughing up blood. "Noone can move that fast since Konoha's Yellow Flash died."

"Well, I guess I'm someone who can move as fast as him." Naruto said before channeling lightning through his blade to finish off Rechi, before pulling out his sword and kicking Rechi down lightly. "Rest well Rechi." he said as he took off towards Tenten and picking her up, noticing the earth spike stuck in her arm. "We'll get you taken care of soon. Don't worry." Naruto told her, to ease her worries.

"Thanks. I'll be fine, this is nothing." Tenten said, trying to sound strong even though the pain was absolutely overbearing. She'd been through rigorous training as a shinobi, but they didn't really train you to deal with physical pain like this. She leaned her head against the boys shoulder and smiled, _"Well, at least Menma-kun is carrying me. I knew he cared about me." _

Naruto walked with Tenten to a clear grassy area in front of the temple, Kakashi carrying Sasuke. "Let go of me! I can walk just fine!" Sasuke said, struggling out of Kakashi's arms, before hitting the ground, attempting to push himself up but only managing to roll onto his back.

"You overdid it Sasuke. You used too much chakra and are now suffering the effects of chakra exhaustion. Not a lesson I was hoping you would learn soon, but a lesson you have to learn nonetheless. Try not to move too much so that your body can heal and your chakra can replenish itself." Kakashi said as he took some bandages from his pouch and began patching up Sasuke and helping Naruto patch up Tenten after he had removed the earth spike from her arm. "We'll stay here for a couple days while you two heal up and we collect the bodies for their bounty."

"_Come to us. Learn of your heritage. Learn of your clan. Just wipe your blood upon the seal and learn of untold secrets of the Uzumaki clan." _

Naruto stood up after he finished patching up Tenten and walked towards the temple doors. "Menma-kun, where are you going?" Tenten asked, looking at her teammate.

"I'm going to check to see if anyone is inside." he replied as he walked up the steps to the door, looking at the seals placed on the door. They weren't the same as what he's seen, but he could tell that it was a multi-layered seal, one he wasn't sure what it was supposed to do.

"Fine, but I'm going with you Menma." Kakashi said as he stood up. "Tenten, you watch over Sasuke." Kakashi walked up to the temple and took a step on the stairs that lead to the doors, but stepped off as he felt an electrical current run through his body. _"Hrm.. Thats strange."_ Kakashi reached out a hand to reach past the area of the stares and received the same electrical charge, only this one was so magnified, that it launched him towards Tenten and Sasuke. "Are you not getting shocked at all Menma?"

"No, why?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing.. just don't be too long." Kakashi said, looking at his student in pure wonder.

"Alright. I'll be back before nightfall." He said, giving a thumbs up to his teacher and teammates. _"Just wipe my blood on the seal, huh?"_ Naruto bit his thumb and wiped the blood onto the seal, watching the seal soak up his blood and open just enough that he could step inside. As he stepped inside, the doors closed behind him, leaving him in a dark, dimly lit building.


End file.
